4. the fall
Chapter four
the fall
"I’m sorry," Aaron says quietly, lying on Rion’s chest. "I know that this isn’t how you wanted to spend last night."
They are lying together on a soft, comfortable hotel room bed, and Rion runs his hands through Aaron’s hair softly.
Last night had been a shock for Aaron, he had not expected to see Xander, which was why he had been so upset.
Xander was back and still had not called him, despite Aaron leaving his contact details for him.
It hurts more than he had anticipated. If not for Rion, his mother would not have been able to get her treatment, had he waited to hear from his brother.
It is therefore not surprising that he had spent the night crying in Rion’s arms.
Truly, Aaron is ashamed of himself. Rion had planned the night out very extensively for them.
From scented candles to flower petals scattered on top of the bed, to what looked suspiciously like Aaron-sized lace underwear, Rion had been preparing for a special night, but none of that happened. Because Aaron was upset.
"It’s okay, don’t worry about it," Rion says, kissing his hair. "I like looking after you."
"Still," Aaron says, sitting up. "I will make it up to you tonight."
He is determined to do this, after all, he’s the one who has been feeling unhappy about Rion not touching him. Now that the time is here, he does not want to wait.
Rion sighs, "That sounds just lovely, but unfortunately, I have another business trip. Your brother got us a really big client, and now I have to go and finalise the contract with them. I’ll be back in a few days."
Aaron pouts. Well, that sucks, but as much as he wants to spend time with Rion, his work has to come first. He lies back down. "Is my brother... is Xander good at his job?"
"He is. He and I don’t get along, but he's excellent at his job. His personality leaves a lot to be desired though. The two of you couldn't be more different," Rion says. "Can you tell me what happened between you two?"
Aaron looks up at the ceiling. "There’s honestly not much to tell.
After we got the settlement from Dad’s… 'accident', he just left us. I mean, he didn’t have to stay, but to leave, just like that? He hurt my mum. She worried so much about him, always asking about him, checking if he was okay," he says. "We’d just lost Dad; we had no one. He didn’t grieve with us, he didn’t help us, and he didn’t let us help him. Just took his money and left."
He knows it isn't Xander’s fault, but Aaron was so lost at that time, his whole life crashing into pieces before him and in that turmoil, someone who'd been an anchor for him had abandoned him. Maybe it was what Xander needed to do for himself at the time, but that doesn’t change how much it hurt Aaron.
He was just a child, and he needed his brother to take care of him, but his brother was just gone without a word.
Rion holds open his arms, and Aaron snuggles into them, letting relief wash over him. He’s not alone anymore, Rion is here, looking after him, and Aaron can be as vulnerable and childish as he wants to be and Rion will still hold him like this, with tender, warm hands.
*
"Dear Mr. Williams
We are pleased to inform you that your registration has been completed.
You have been registered as a second year student at Engelbatch University for a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice.
Please log in to the university website using the credentials provided below to confirm your class selection.
The schedule, important dates, as well as the required study material, will be listed on the website. "
It has been a while since he received that email, but Aaron cannot help but constantly check if it is real.
He did it. He will be able to chase his dream, something that he had given up on for some time.
Thanks to Rion, Aaron can feel his life starting to piece itself back together.
His mother is doing well, and so far there have been no signs of her rejecting the transplant.
Whenever he visits her in the hospital, the nurses always complain with light hearts that they are tired of her bragging about how smart her son is, and showing all of them pictures of his registration certificate.
Aaron is both mortified and bashful. Still, it’s good to see his mother happy.
She finally has some colour on her face, and she is no longer too weak to move.
It is an improvement that heals Aaron’s heart.
Xander calls him a day later, while Aaron is in the coffee shop, asking to meet.
For a second, Aaron hesitates. Why is he only calling him now that they have met and not before?
He had received Aaron’s number from his secretary and had probably been sitting on it all this time without contacting him.
The question is on the tip of his tongue: why now?
But he does not ask, after all, it should not surprise him that Xander only cares now because he saw Aaron at the party.
As much as Aaron wants to tell him where he can shove it, he decides to meet with him.
He needs closure to untie the knot in his stomach whenever he thinks about Xander abandoning him and his mother.
He also lied to his mother, telling her that Xander paid for her medical procedure, so he is hoping that Xander will agree to corroborate his lie, just in case his mother asks him.
So, later that evening, Xander comes over to the coffee shop.
"It’s good to see you, Aaron. Look at you; you’re all grown up now," Xander says with a smile, clasping Aaron’s hand.
Aaron shakes him off in annoyance. "Whatever. Come on." The coffee shop is already closed, so Aaron leads him quietly up to the flat. James is spending the night at Elena’s place, so the two of them can talk in peace.
"So, how do you know Rion?" Xander asks cautiously.
Rolling his eyes as he opens the door to the flat, Aaron says, "I was his date to your company function.
What do you think our relationship is?" Aaron should stick to Rion’s story.
He had said that if his employees ask, Aaron should say that he is his boyfriend.
He pushes away the thought of how much he wishes it to be true.
Xander shakes his head. "I guess the rumours are true. He likes them young."
"Don’t patronise me, Xander, I’m not a child. I’m 23!" Aaron snaps at him.
"And Rion is almost 50!"
"So?" Aaron does not waver.
"Unbelievable. Putting aside the age difference, why would you date him anyway? He has a rotten personality," Xander says.
The irony of Xander saying the same thing Rion said about him is not lost on Aaron, but he ignores it in favour of snapping at his brother. "Rion is good to me. That’s more than I can say about you."
"I’m not saying there isn’t a decent bone in him. He’s the one who sponsored me in getting my business degree, after all. He’s just hard to get along with."
"No, he’s not. Maybe you just don’t try hard enough," Aaron says.
To that, Xander doesn't respond as they enter the flat. Aaron takes a moment to really look at his brother. He’s so much older than the last time they had spent any time together, with hard lines on his forehead and a beard. He looks tired just standing there.
Xander looks around the flat, a wilful look in his eye. "Is this the building that Laura bought with the settlement money?" he asks.
Aaron nods. "Yeah, we’re still paying for it though."
"Isn’t the flat a bit big for the two of you?"
Aaron has been calm during this entire meeting, but those words finally make something inside him snap. "Why do you think she bought a three-bedroom flat, Xander? Huh? The other room was for you!"
"Me?" Xander asks in shock. "Why?"
Oh, man. He is infuriating. Aaron pulls out a chair, sits down at the table, and invites Xander to do the same. "What are you doing here? What do you want, Xander?"
The room is quiet, and Xander scratches behind his ear nervously. "I saw you and I wanted to check on how you and Laura were doing. You said that she was struggling."
Aaron wants to laugh at the ridiculousness of this statement. What the hell was he expecting? "My mother has been sick for years. She almost died, Xander. She had a stem cell transplant, so she’s a bit better now. But what? You pretend to care about her now?"
There is a horrified look in his eyes. "What do you mean? Laura’s sick? Is she dying? What’s wrong?"
"For years, we’ve been in and out of the hospital, and you never once checked up on us.
Yet, I knew where to find you because she always was on the lookout for news about you, always so proud of your success and the man you’ve become," Aaron feels his eyes starting to tear up.
"That day at your graduation, seven years ago, the last time we saw each other, she was sick, and you didn’t even notice, Xander. "
"No, I… I didn’t know. I just…" The shock is almost palpable on Xander’s face, and he holds his head in his hands.
Aaron clenches his fist, and then snorts.
"Of course you didn’t. You left us as soon as you got the settlement money.
You went to your maternal grandparents and left us high and dry until you invited us to your graduation, and then nothing.
My mother wondered what she'd done wrong for you to forsake us like that. "
"No, I left because I didn’t want to be a burden to her." Xander looks up at Aaron with tearful eyes. "I didn’t want her to feel obligated to look after me because I lost both my parents. I’m not even her child-"
Aaron’s fist hits Xander’s jaw before either of them realises it. He is standing, anger overcoming him at hearing those words. "She loves you. She worries about you... she created a place for you here, and you just shit on her kindness and compassion?!"
"I-"
The tension makes the small room feel as if it is even smaller. "You think it was okay just to walk away, leaving us to deal with everything after Dad fucking killed himself?" Aaron's voice shakes with uncontrollable anger.