Freezing Bonds that Tie our Hearts (Blood and Water #2)

29. Nova

Winter passed, then spring came and went and we were now at the beginning of summer, having graduated and gearing up to start a new life.

A new life, far away from this hell.

The house was mostly empty save for a few boxes. We decided to finish school in Ravenbridge before we could get back to New York, and thankfully the last few months of the school year were way smoother for all of us.

As I closed my suitcase, thus marking the last of my things being put away, I sighed in relief.

“I can’t believe we’re gonna be living so far apart.” Zainab let herself fall on top of my now naked mattress.

I smiled down at her, gripping the heavy suitcase and putting it on the ground, “You know we’re only just a flight away, Zee. You can come stay with us anytime.”

Getting on her elbows, she said “And I can’t believe your dad agreed to let you live with Aiden.”

“Right? Who would’ve known they’d set their differences apart.”

“All thanks to their love for ‘Pac.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Dad and the girls had left last night, but I decided to stay one more day so that I could take the road with Aiden.

College still wasn’t in the cards for him, even though he got a few scholarships, he just hated the idea of staying in school any longer. The exciting thing was that he got an apprenticeship in a famous tattoo shop not far from my school thanks to an old friend who showed his work to the owner. It took some convincing on my and his mother’s part because even though he hated Ravenbridge, he didn’t want to leave his family behind.

Eventually, he came around and accepted the apprenticeship. Imagine my surprise when my overprotective dad was the one who offered to let us both live at one of his apartments situated both near his tattoo shop and my school. To say his relationship with Aiden got better was an understatement.

Since upping my medication dosage, I could often get dizzy during the day and so driving had to be kept to a minimum. As soon as Aiden heard about that, he told me he’d come and get me to and from school everyday. A few weeks after the tragedy, which the media had named The Ravenbridge 5 case, he started coming over with snacks in the evening so we could watch animal documentaries together. No more cramming inside his car though, we watched them from my couch, all huddled together with my sisters, and sometimes, even Bibi.

Dad, seeing how much Aiden cared for me and the girls, came around more easily than I’d have expected.

They even joked around nowadays, which was still a bit weird, I had to admit.

“I’m gonna miss you, Nova.” Zainab sat down and smiled sadly at me.

Sitting down beside her, I hugged her tight. Zee wasn’t the touchy-feely type, so I half expected her to push me away playfully, but to my surprise, she didn’t. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me back.

“I was serious, Zee. Anytime you wanna come over, you can. We wouldn’t even have to stay over at the apartment if that makes you uncomfortable, we could get a hotel room or I could send Aiden to one for the night.” I smirked, and she mirrored my expression.

“I like this idea.”

She liked Aiden, loved him even, but she’d never admit to it. They had kind of a black cat/doberman relationship, where they constantly bickered but deep down, they both knew they could count on each other.

“I still can’t believe chief Richards’ wife is his mom. Talk about a plot twist.”

“Right?” I shook my head, that revelation was still mind-boggling to me, “She got pregnant at eighteen and abandoned him as a baby because her family ordered her to. She came back to Ravenbridge to watch him grow up from afar because it was all she could do. It’s so sad.”

“How is he taking it?”

“In strides. I think discovering he had a whole family in Louisiana, including a father who had no idea he existed, is what pushed him to agree to meet up with Miranda. So she could tell him more.”

“After nine months of her begging.”

“It was hard for him. He felt like agreeing to keep contact with Miranda meant betraying his mom.”

“I get that. It’s also scary, I guess. Finding out at eighteen that you have a whole ass family a few states away is crazy, dude.” I nodded.

“Girl, he has two cousins one town over.”

“What!”

“Yup. He told his ex-cop friend, Maddox, about everything, including his father’s name and the guy was shocked. He was shocked because these two cousins actually turned out to be Maddox’s fiancée and her little sister. They had no idea they had any family left either, apparently their dad had cut all ties with his family too before dying. ”

“Shut up!” She sat up straighter, her eyes widened. “This is actually better than those Turkish musalsal that my mom watches.” Her Algerian mother did love her Turkish dramas.

I chuckled, letting out a breath, “Yeah. They’re supposed to come see us in New York once we’re settled so they can meet for the first time.”

“I’m happy for him. I mean, of course Aiden already had a family but you never have too much of that, right?”

I hummed quietly, agreeing with her.

***

The sun was starting to set on Ravenbridge when Aiden and I stopped the car in front of the cemetery. He got out first and I followed, slamming the door after me and hugging myself. He walked up to me, grabbing my hand as we both made our way inside.

Behind us, the car was packed with our belongings and ready for the five hours drive up to the city. We could have taken the road early this morning but we wanted to spend the day with his mom and sisters and Aiden loved driving at night anyways. We’d said goodbye to our friends and family but there was still one last stop to make before we could start our new life together.

He let out a heavy breath as we arrived in front of Oscar’s grave.

Oscar Vasquez

Son, brother and friend

“I thought I’d miss him a little less as time passed, but I was wrong.” Aiden admitted.

I squeezed his hand.

“I’ll always miss him. I just wish he was still here so I could tell him all about how crazy my life is turning out to be.” He chuckled humorlessly.

“He would be so happy for you, Aiden. Although maybe a little jealous to learn that you have a half brother in Louisiana.” The smirk that grazed his lips was genuine this time.

“Yeah, he’d lose it,” he said, shaking his head, “but he wouldn’t need to worry. Nobody will ever replace him. The Creed to my Rocky.”

I knew that. No one would ever replace him.

Not even his newfound family.

Alessandro Flores, his dad, never even knew of his existence.

He owned a car repair shop in a small town named Olympe, Louisiana. He lived there along with his wife and two kids, Jeremy and Madita who were respectively eight and thirteen.

Aiden had been reluctant about contacting him but he finally decided to last month.

He spoke to him twice since then, always over the phone, and wasn’t as opposed to the idea of meeting him as he once was.

I was the only one he felt comfortable talking to about this subject, scared that telling that to his sisters or mother would result in them believing they weren’t enough for him.

Aiden’s relationship with Miranda, who he still had trouble considering as his biological mother, also was improving, although not as much as I would like. He was slowly coming around.

Crouching down to grasp the headstone, he whispered, “I’ll miss you, half pint. I wish I could have made true to my promise and left town with you.”

My hand found Aiden’s shoulder in a reassuring gesture, tears welling in my eyes.

We stayed there for a while, until the sky was a darker shade of purple, before we climbed back inside the car.

There, Aiden’s hand grabbed mine, and he brought it up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the back of it. Then he turned the key into the ignition, the engine coming to life. We drove out of Ravenbridge, letting behind all the sadness and pain we had endured.

This town will forever make me feel bittersweet. It gave me my best friends, my chosen family, and my one true love, but it also took so much from me, from us.

“I love you.” I breathed, turning my head in his direction as we passed the Welcome to Ravenbridge sign.

“I love you too, Little Star. More than anything.”