Choosing Us (Pierced Hearts Duet #1)(33)

Our lives were far from fine, and no amount of bullshit coming from her mouth would ever make me think otherwise.

But my girl had a heart of gold, and because of that she’d hide things from me all the time. Like the time one of her foster guardians slapped her across the face for accidentally throwing his cigarettes out. When he should have been grateful she was cleaning up the piss-poor excuse of a roof he claimed he was providing over her head.

She lied, telling me she fell off the bed she shared with two other girls, knowing I’d lose my shit if I knew the truth. Except, Bailey couldn’t lie worth shit. I saw right through it, I always did. Although that didn’t stop her half-ass attempts of trying to keep stuff from me.

Case in point, I had to see her with my own two eyes to believe her.

Needing to make sure she was really fine, and she wasn’t just trying to blow smoke up my ass.

“Bay, don’t worry about it. How many times do I have to tell you? When you’re with me, you never have to worry about anything. I got you, Bay.” I turned and winked at her, squeezing her hand in reassurance. “I always got you. Me and you against the world, remember?”

She beamed with a familiar gleam in her eyes that got me through the hard nights. Thinking about Bailey’s smile, her laugh, the way she lit up just for me … that shit got me through a lot of nights, a lot of days, a lot of everything.

I smiled at her one last time and continued walking through the dark woods as she followed close behind, carefully stepping in my tracks.

Mother Nature chose Christmas Eve to unleash her wintery fury in North Carolina, practically shutting down the whole state. The ground was covered in frost, blanketed by a dusting of snow while huge, soft flakes fell from the night’s sky. The frozen fluff crunched under our boots with each step we treaded deeper into the forest. I held her hand tighter so she wouldn’t slip on the fallen branches coated with a thin layer of ice.

“Aiden, I have to tell you something,” she uttered out of nowhere.

My heart dropped, and I stopped dead in my tracks, causing her body to collide with mine. Fearing the worst.

She instantly called me out on it, “No! It’s not anything like that.” Turning me to face her, fully aware of where my mind went to first.

One of my biggest fears was that Bailey would get molested or raped by a foster guardian or a foster sibling. Which happened to kids…

All. The. Time.

“Bay, don’t start sentences like that,” I stated, my tone still shaken up.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. And it’s Christmas and you’re here, and I just… I don’t… I mean…”

I grabbed her chin, rubbing my thumb against her cheek through the worn, tattered hole in my glove. “What’s up, Bay? You can tell me anything.”

“I know. It’s just…” Her eyes brimmed with fresh tears. “I don’t have a gift for you, Aiden. I’m sorry. I was going to buy you a new hoodie from the thrift store down on Main since you gave me the only one you own when it started getting cold out. But I couldn’t save enough money from walking Nina’s dog from next door.”

My eyes shifted to the hoodie she was talking about. It looked more like a dress on Bailey, but it kept her warm which was all that mattered. She had less clothes than I did, everything she owned was very worn hand-me-downs and not in good shape by any means.

Besides, I loved seeing her in my clothes.

It always did something to me.

“Bay, how many times do I have to tell you to stop walking that damn dog? It walks you. I don’t need a gift from you. I’ll have some extra money next time to hold you over until I see you again.”

“Aiden, you can’t keep giving me money. I need to make my own. You don’t earn that much as it is with whatever you end up doing. It’s not fair—”

The expression on my face was enough to render her speechless. “I’m just saying…” she muttered loud enough for me to hear.

“I know what you’re saying, and I’m sorry, Bay, but I don’t give a fuck. I’m going to give you money, and you’re going to take it. Just because you’re wearing layers of clothing, doesn’t mean I can’t tell you’ve lost more weight. Are those motherfuckers even feeding you?”

“There’s ten of us in the house now, and—”

“Ten?! They took in more kids? Of course, they did, greedy fucks,” I breathed out, trying to control my temper. Not letting the reality of our lives ruin the moment I wanted to have with her.

The one I’d been dreaming of since the first time she shared her plate of food with me under the green slide.

“Aiden, they’re younger and need more food than I do.”

“You know what I need, Bay? I need you alive.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“And you’re downplaying the situation like you always do with everything.”

She took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes at me. “Fine. I’ll eat more, will that make you stop giving me money?”

“No, but nice try.”

“Oh. My. God! You’re impossible! Do you even hear yourself? We’re supposed to take care of each other, remember? But all you do is take care of me. How’s that fair to you?”