Genre: Romance Suspense
“If I’m eating sushi we’re watching Avengers again,” Aiden smirked as he closed the front door with his foot. He put his briefcase down and paused at the threshold, jolted by the overwhelming hollowness of the flat.
He looked to the couch, and could almost see where Wren should be. Cuddled up with her hands sticking through the sleeves of the blue oversized fleece blanket he bought her last Christmas, holding a cup of lemon tea that was filling the air with the soft scent of long summer days on fresh green grass.
Soft brown eyes with flecks of amber would be glued to an old rerun of Grey’s Anatomy. She didn't like the newer ones. He unlocked his phone just to confirm that yes, the text was there.
Ordered sushi, you choose the movie
See you soon 😘
“Wren?” He walked further inside. He didn’t have to enter each room to know she wasn’t there, but he did it anyway, ignoring the flicker of dread that flashed through his chest. His mind sensed more than spotted a pink Wren-scented sticky note on the kitchen counter. A familiar sparkling gem seated on top. The light cherry blossom mist swamped the air around him as he picked them both up. By the time he finished reading the note, he was holding his breath. Or maybe his lungs refused to draw air. He wasn’t sure which.
As if in slow motion, the pink sticky note floated its way downwards. It drifted gently, in time with the blood in his veins sluggishly turning to ice. When it finally hit the floor, the growing chill sliced its way through his entire body.
In a trembling hand, Aiden struggled to keep a grip on the platinum ring he put on Wren’s finger only four days ago. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that she’d actually said yes. The week so far had been a blur of elation, disbelief and pure euphoria. Now the ring was a laden weight threatening to drag him down; solid proof that what he just read was real as the ticking clock in front of him. The more he stared the louder it got, taunting him with each passing second. Wren was gone, Aiden didn't know if he would get her back.
Forests are green, waters are blue
You had a blast, but she caught the flu
Come on your own, three’s already a crowd
Oh! By the way, Wren won’t last here too long
The mocking rhyme echoed its way through his brain, bouncing into every corner, ensuring he could hear nothing else. Aiden wasn’t sure exactly what was happening, but he knew he had little time to figure it out, so with shaking fingers, he got back in his car and drove into the night, praying to God that this was some poorly thought out joke.
The last time Aiden drove this winding road had been one of the happiest days of his life. It was a cool spring day. Wren had her window down with bare feet planted upon the dashboard and wiggling toes of sunset orange. The breeze whipped her bouncing jet black curls, springing them free from the loose ponytail confine. Aiden couldn’t help but reach across to run his fingers through it. She looked over and said something, but he couldn’t hear, his heart was beating too loudly in his ears. She squealed unexpectedly, snapping Aiden out of his reverie. Her arm reached out to wrench the steering wheel, expertly twisting the car back into its correct lane. Luckily, there weren’t many cars on the deserted country road, so they slowed to a stop pulling over.
Aiden remembered this next few moments like it was yesterday, forever replaying it in his mind. He was positive the passing driver wasn’t yelling pleasantries, but there was some new Jason Derulo song on the radio perfect for drowning the angry voice out. Wren stared at him with bright wide eyes right before they both burst into fits of violent laughter. The shock and adrenaline of the last few seconds, desperately needing an escape. It was the moment Aiden told Wren that he loved her and the tension in his shoulders disappeared when she replied that she loved him too. Then she chuckled, “I heard that love could kill, but I never knew how literal they meant it.”
He winced, “That could have gone badly.”
“But it didn’t.” She shrugged, reaching up to kiss him.
Aiden made a discovery that day; cherry blossom mist would forever be his favourite scent.
They spent the three-day weekend camping outdoors by a crystal blue lake and Aiden revelled in the sharp and fresh country air. Wren was a city girl, but she enjoyed most of it. Only complaining during the hike, Aiden insisted on doing. The view would be worth it, he'd told her. Near the top, he gave in, and she was more than thrilled that she got to piggyback the rest of the way up, “serenading” him with silly made-up camp songs in his ear. He would never admit that he secretly adored them.
She slept most of the drive home, so Aiden gave her another piggyback inside. As soon as they entered the ground floor of their building, she thanked him by sneezing all over his neck. He groaned, she chuckled and said that she was not suited for country air. By the next day, Wren had the flu, and it became an ongoing joke between them.
The memory was a blow to the chest now, but unless this whole thing was some kind of sick joke, who else would know that? Wren did have a dark sense of humour sometimes, but this was too far. She wouldn’t, he told himself, no sane person would be this twisted. So Aiden drove, making a list in his head of potential culprits, her friends, his friends, workmates, anyone who could fit the bill. The trembling in his body ebbed, and the ice morphed into hard, unfeeling stone. Joke or not, whoever thought to pull a stunt like this, would severely regret it. He would make sure of it.
Part 2 Coming Sunday 😉
Fun Fact:
The Japanese Women's Club (JWC),
Donated 400 cherry trees to Amstelveen
We need more of this in the world
Kommentare