Chapter 7 Aiden
AIDEN
Where am I?
Groaning, I turned over onto my side. My head felt fuzzy, and my stomach was grumbling, but I lay on something warm and soft. I glanced down at myself. Instead of my old tattered shirt, I was wearing a crisp white T-shirt.
I sat up with a jolt and took in my surroundings. The wooden walls seemed to belong to an old cabin. A fire burned in the corner.
Was this real? Had I died, and this was Heaven?
I rubbed my eyes, but my view stayed the same. Only now Jackson appeared, smiling. What was he wearing? The last time I’d seen him, he had on days’ old clothes caked with dirt. Now he was wearing a clean pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt.
“What’s going on?” I croaked. “Where are we? Did we get rescued?”
I glanced down at myself, at the clean T-shirt. Had he stripped off my clothes and cleaned me up? Most of the dirt and grime was gone, though I’d give one of my kidneys for a toothbrush and some toothpaste. There was only so much water and a piece of cloth could get rid of.
“We got lucky,” he said. “I really thought that would be the last of us, then I found the cabin.”
“Just sitting in the middle of nowhere?”
Jackson huffed out a dry breath, glancing back toward the door like he still couldn’t quite believe it himself.
“Not exactly nowhere. My guess is that this whole stretch used to be mining land. Guys would come out here chasing gold, silver—whatever they thought they could pull from the ground. They built shacks like this to live in while they worked. Most got abandoned when the money dried up.”
He nudged at one of the patched boards with his boot. “Someone came along later and fixed it up. While you were sleeping, I looked around. There are solar panels on the outside. Water barrels too. Probably an off-grid setup.”
He chuckled, and my stomach flopped around uneasily. What was wrong with him? Jackson never smiled like this, but he seemed happy.
I guess a near-death experience can really change people.
“I’m sure the owners will be back soon,” he added. “Their goods look freshly stocked. When they get back, we can find our way back home.”
“Oh.”
Why didn’t the thought of going back home fill me with relief?
I lowered my head and peered up at him from under my eyelashes.
We’d both been on the brink of desperation over the past few days, seeking comfort and pleasure in each other.
We never talked about it because survival was more important at the time.
Was that all it’d been for him, though? Just a desperate attempt to clutch at the last moments of pleasure before we died?
What more can it be? He’s your stepfather. He’s literally married to your mother.
“I made us vegetable soup,” he said. “It’ll be good to settle your stomach. Do you want to eat first or take a bath? There’s enough water, but we’ll have to conserve the supply.”
“Eat first.”
I was too hungry, even if I relished the idea of finally giving all my boy parts a good washing. I’d never been this dirty before.
The rustic cabin was modestly furnished with the essentials, reflecting the owners were practical, more than lavish. The living area featured a sturdy wooden table and a few mismatched chairs. The wooden walls exuded a natural warmth and gave the room a cozy feel.
Next to the fireplace was a modest kitchen area, which was equipped with a basic stove, a sink, and a small refrigerator, which ran on solar power. Against another wall, shelves were stocked with pots and pans. A few handmade ceramic dishes and mugs were neatly arranged, ready to be used.
I sat at the table and Jackson brought me a bowl of the soup along with bread he must have warmed in a skillet. We didn’t talk. He puttered around the cabin, but I was too hungry to pay him much attention. I focused on the food and devoured every morsel.
When I was full, I put the bowl down on the table and slapped a hand to my mouth when a loud burp echoed from my belly.
“Excuse me.”
Jackson chuckled. “Are you finished? You should have a bath then. I heated the water for you.”
“You did?” He was being so nice and treated me differently. Did he think I would tell others what he’d done to me?
That has to be why he’s nice to me.
Disappointment filled my chest. So much for… for what, exactly?
Don’t get your head up in the clouds, Aiden. He’s your stepdad. Remember? The man who told your mother he would love and cherish her until death?
“Why?” I asked.
“Excuse me?” He looked startled.
“Why did you heat the water?”
“It’s what you’re used to, isn’t it? You’ve already been through so much—”
“Cut the bullshit, Jackson!” I jumped to my feet, upset, but not sure I had a right to be or was even upset for the right reasons.
“You’re only being nice because of what…
of what we did. You think I’m going to go blabbing that I let my stepfather jerk me off.
Well, don’t bother. I’m as much to be blamed as you because I got sick pleasure from it too, so don’t go playing nice to me like I’m some victim.
I wouldn’t want the secret to get out either. What would people think of me?”
I stormed away behind a screen I could only fathom was the “bathroom.” I was right. An old-fashioned tub stood behind the screen with heat rising from the water. My eyes burned. He’d gone to so much trouble. How many times had he gone back and forth to fill the tub for me?
And he’d done it for all the wrong reasons. Why couldn’t he have done it because he cared about me? In the time we’d spent together, desperate and afraid we would die, we’d been at our most honest with each other. A
All this fighting back home now made sense. The sexual tension had driven us up the wall. I paraded all those men before him to get a rise out of him on purpose. Because I loved when he got upset at me. Then I could pretend it was jealousy.
And it was jealousy he’d felt all those years.
Why didn’t the realization make me feel any better?
I cried softly as I washed my body. I took my time, thoroughly washing all the cracks and creases. Not because I expected anything would happen between us. I just really needed to feel clean.
“Aiden,” Jackson called. “If the water has cooled, don’t stay in it too long. You might catch a cold. With everything already gone to shit, that’s the last thing we need right now.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t have to take care of me if I’m sick.”
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.”
“I’m going outside for a while. Go back to bed when you’re done and try to get some sleep. It’s been a tough few days for you.”
And it hadn’t been for him? He’d carried me on his back. Didn’t he know I saw him stretching his rations while giving me larger portions to eat?
Ugh. If only I could hate him still like I used to. But I never really hated him, did I?
With a sigh, I got out of the tub. Now where the hell to find some toothpaste?