Her Charming Secret

by Sam Ayers

  “Guys, wait up!” she called as she tried to keep up with them.

  “Walk faster,” Jo chuckled as she pulled Jake forward.

  “Jo, my arm hurts,” he moaned. She was literally dragging him. Jake hated shopping, but he never learnt to say no to Jo.

  Suddenly, it felt like someone was staring at her. Abigail turned around to see Aiden and Adele walking away. Wait, what are they doing here? By the look on Aiden’s face, she knew something was wrong – like, really wrong. Wondering if Jo knew something, she turned to see them disappear into one of the stores and ran to catch up with them.

  Walking in, she saw that Jo had walked into a bookstore and already had her head buried in a book. Seriously, with the number of books she bought, it was a wonder their apartment hadn’t been flooded by them yet.

  Tapping on her shoulder to get her attention, Abigail asked, “Hey, I saw Aiden just now; did you know he was coming here?”

  Jo shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe he is here to shop too.” Turning, she signaled Jake to come near them. “Jake, look at this; this book looks so interesting, I am so gonna get this . . . you getting anything?”

  Abigail left them there talking about books again. She moved towards the exit and pulled out her phone; she stared at it for a while before calling Alex. She waited as the phone rang and finally it went to voicemail.

  “Hello, this is Alex’s voice. Alex is not here right now — Hey, haven’t you ever lost YOUR voice? Well, believe me, when I find him again, I’ll have a few choice words for him. If you do, too, leave them after the beep.”

  She stared at the screen, wondering for the umpteenth time whether Alex actually belonged to this world. She cut the call when she heard Jo’s voice and turned around to see her holding two books, asking her to choose one. Abigail walked towards her, slipping her phone back into her bag before she plucked the book out of Jo’s hand to see which one she would like. This was what typically happened when they went out shopping, Abby got lost in the conversation, forgetting all about Alex.

  * * *

  There was some random song playing on the radio. Adele had given up after making some conversation, only for Aiden to give monosyllabic answers or none at all. He didn’t know why, but the thought of Jo with any other man made his blood boil. The atmosphere had somehow grown cold and they had shopped for the party mostly in silence. Heading back home, he tried to push the thoughts to the back of his head and concentrate on Aubrey’s birthday bash; she would be the first to see through him and realize he was upset, and he didn’t want to spoil her special day.

  Putting on a fake smile, he walked in to see Pierre arguing with Alex. Ashton was standing next to them, trying to calm them down; Aubrey was nowhere to be seen. He guessed she must have gone out to play with her friends. As he moved toward them, he caught snippets of their conversation.

  “It iz a wondzerful izea,” Pierre almost shouted.

  “Are you crazy? There is no way Aubrey wants real horses in the party!” Alex cried.

  “But zhe zaid that zhe wantz pony.”

  “Yeah! A pony, just one – as in one single pony. Not a herd of them from some wild region, so you better give up that crazy idea!” Alex yelled.

  Before Pierre could retaliate, Adele stepped between them and said, “Enough! Stop arguing and start helping us out for the party.”

  Alex gave her a mock-salute and said, “Aye Aye, Captain.”

  Aiden snickered, and even as Adele tried to look all annoyed, her lips twitched into a small smile.

  “Zen I’m gonna zay no zu the horzez,” Grandpa declared and walked away.

  “Was he serious when he spoke about those horses? He’s really gonna buy Aubrey horses for her birthday?” Ashton asked incredulously.

  “That’s grandpa . . . he can do anything,” Aiden said, smiling as he sat down on the couch. Alex plopped down next to him and Ashton sat down on the rug facing them. Adele clapped her hands twice to bring their attention to her.

  “Listen up, guys! We’ve wasted enough time and now we got to do some serious work,” she said. “Ash, have you sent out all the invites yet?”

  Alex rolled his eyes and snickered.

  “Yeah, I did that,” Ash replied smirking at Alex. It looked like they were trying to annoy each other again.

  “Aid, what time do you plan on getting the cake from Mom’s patisserie?” she asked Aiden.

  “Around seven. Why don’t you come with me?” It would always be better if she could check on the final details by herself.

  “Alright, I guess we can do that. Have you decided how to decorate this place with Aubrey around, Alex? I think you were telling me about some cool idea of yours.”

  “Umm . . . I have no clue! You see, I was so busy that I forgot,” Alex said innocently.

  “Yeah, right! You were chatting with someone on the phone all day.” Ash snorted. “Ady, I think I have a great idea. Aubrey can go to Aiden’s place for a sleepover. That way she can spend time with Aid while we decorate this place. What say?”

  “I don’t mind having her over; we can have lots of fun.” Aiden grinned.

  “Zleepover? What iz a zleepover?” he heard Grandpa’s voice behind him.

  “Sleepover is spending the night away from home. Aubrey will be staying over at Aiden’s place,” Ashton explained. “Come to think of it . . . it’s gonna be amazing. Can I join you guys later?”

  Aiden nodded. Aubrey and Ashton! Well, it will be easy to handle these two. Pierre’s face was full of concentration, which was odd because he usually spoke without thinking.

  “Moi aussi! (Me too!) I wantz to go to ze zleepover,” he declared. “I go pack mi bagz now.”

  “You think you will be able to handle him by yourself, Aido?” Alex asked curiously.

  “I think I can manage for few hours,” Aiden sighed.

  “We can think of something else, but for the time being let’s discuss Aubrey’s party. We can’t do anything while she is at home, and I need Aid’s help, so I don’t want him to take her to his place yet,” Adele said. “Wait a second. Alex, why don’t you take Aubrey out for a while? You can drop her off at Aiden’s place later.”

  “I think I can do that; I’ll take her out for ice cream, and then I can drop her off at Aido’s place and join you guys,” Alex said.

  “What about grandpa?” Ashton asked. It was kinda confusing; what could they do with him? If he stayed here, he would trouble everyone and might even reveal the secret to Aubrey. Before anyone could answer, Ash spoke, “Alex, take him with you and drop him off at Aid’s place with Aubrey.”

  “That’s a great idea; it will keep them both distracted. So I’m going upstairs to pack Aubrey’s stuff,” Adele said as she walked away.

  “I am backz! Wheze are we goingz?” Grandpa asked as he sat down on the couch and placed a huge duffel bag next to him.

  “What’s that?” Aiden asked, confused, looking at the bag. Wait, is he planning on bringing that with him for the sleepover? Apparently, Pierre was bringing that with him; it was his overnight bag. Just for one night! Aiden sighed.

  Adele came downstairs with a pink duffel bag; she walked toward him and handed over the bag. “Here, I packed some clothes and toiletries. Her favorite Cheesy Chex Mix is there, and her teddy. Take care of her.”

  “Will do! But what about grandpa?” Aiden asked. They looked at their grandfather, who was playing with Ashton’s phone; Ash looked annoyed, because grandpa was literally trying to break the thing. Just then, the door opened and Aubrey came running in and jumped at Aiden. He caught her in time and she grinned.

  “Aidey, I’m back!” she said, smiling. “Guess what? It’s my birthday tomorrow. And I’m going to be 10!”

  Aiden hugged her tightly.

  “Wow, Little Auby is growing up,” Alex said as he came closer. “I’m gonna take you out for ice cream. Why don’t you join us, Grandpa Pierre?”

  “Pourquoi pas? (Why not?) I wouldz luv to come,” he said as he walke
d away towards the car.

  Aiden went to his own room and all the memories of their childhood flooded back. How Alex would tell them ghost stories in the middle of the night while they sat huddled together. How little Ashton would sneak into their room in the middle of the night when he was scared. How baby Aubrey would jump on their beds to wake them up on Christmas morning. Even as these memories stayed strong, a whole part of his life was missing. He stared at the window that overlooked the garden; he could hear Alex’s car backing out of the driveway with Grandpa and Aubrey, who seemed to be having a match to see who could scream goodbye the loudest.

  Alex seriously wished he had invested in a pair of earplugs. What with Aubrey and the old man screaming off-tune, singing some weird songs. When Pierre reached a note that was so high that Alex wasn’t even sure if even dogs would catch it, he seriously considered banging his head on the steering wheel. But seeing as they were in the middle of the road, all he could do was sigh.

  They reached the ice cream parlor, and Aubrey walked forward and ordered, “One scoop of raspberry ice cream please.” Alex swore that angelic voice and innocent look on her face might just get her that scoop for free. He wasn’t in the mood for an ice cream, so he ordered coffee. When he looked around, he couldn’t find the old man.

  “Aubrey, where did your grandpa run off to?” Alex asked as he paid for the ice cream and the coffee.

  “I wud like toh bye an ize cream,” he heard a very familiar voice coming from the other side. They turned around to see Pierre ordering himself a huge sundae with extra toppings. Gosh! Is he going to eat all that?

  “Come on Auby,” Alex called her and she sat down next to him. “Like your ice cream?”

  “I love it, but I wish Aidey was here,” she sighed. Alex raised an eyebrow. Anyone who knew Aubrey knew she had a huge Aiden complex – one that stretched a mile long. Grandpa Pierre came and sat down with his sundae and told Alex to pay for it.

  “Why should I pay for that, old man?” Alex asked. He didn’t get an answer, so he sighed and went to pay for it. Just then, he got a text from Aiden asking him if everything was alright. He called him and explained the sundae thing and how Pierre wanted to buy Aubrey a new car, as she didn’t have one of her own. Aiden assured that it wasn’t going to happen, so after Pierre and Aubrey finished eating their ice creams, they left for his place. He wasn’t there yet, so Alex decided to bring out his secret weapon.

  “Bwahahaha!!! You are going to have fun,” he screamed and saw Aubrey jump. “Here you go, kiddo. Enjoy!” He put on her favorite movie, Tangled, and placed all the candies, chocolates and every other sugary snack a kid her age dreamed about on the tea table. “I’m going out now; Aiden will join you in a while, so take care.”

  While Alex was a little skeptical about leaving them alone, he knew they would be all right. He trusted Pierre a little and knew he would take care of little Aubrey. Later, Alex drove his car and headed towards his uncle’s home. He walked in to see Aiden talking to Ashton about something – important secret talk. Yeah right! The drawing room looked pretty good now; they had managed to put up most of the decorations. The once-sober beige room with tasteful highlights of colors splashed in the middle had been temporarily converted into a pink paradise that Alex was sure Aubrey would love; there were pink and silver balloons all over, and gauzy silver cloth had been used to give it a palace-like feel. There were even pink roses that Adele was tucking into corners, adding to the fairytale feel. Seeing Alex walk in, Ashton, who wanted to go with Aiden, ran upstairs and brought his camcorder out.

  “What are you going to do with that?” Alex asked, confused. Every time Ash got out his camcorder, something went terribly wrong and he caught the whole thing on tape to laugh at the other person’s misery. Alex remembered the last time Ash had that camcorder; he recorded a video of him and posted it on YouTube. That wasn’t the real problem; he’d managed to get a video of Alex sleeping and snoring, as he described in that little post he wrote, and the most embarrassing part of the whole mess was that Alex had had nothing on but his Superman boxers. The video had over ten thousand views, and he still hadn’t taken a good revenge for that, but he was planning to do that soon. Maybe he should just lock him up in his grandfather’s home; it was as good as locking him in a haunted house, because it was huge and that library was creepy. Aiden and Ashton left, and Alex was pretty sure that it was their turn to face the wild old man.

  Walking into his apartment, Aiden almost walked back out – Grandpa and Aubrey were jumping on his couch! They seemed to have gone through a lot of sugary snacks, judging by the sheer number of wrappers strewn around, and were loudly commenting about – wait, was it that movie Tangled again?

  Aubrey’s peals of laughter broke into his thoughts just in time to see the main character talking about how they always drew his nose wrong, and Grandpa seemed to agree with him. “It iz a pityz that they make hiz beauziful faze zo awful. If he waz a thief in ze France, ze would have got hiz noze right andz hungz him in ze gallowz,” he declared.

  Aubrey stopped jumping to stare at him wide-eyed, her eyes slowly beginning to water. Ashton had had enough of the situation, so he spoke loudly, “Hey, guys, we are home!”

  “Aideeeyyy, come here! We are watching Tangled!” Aubrey shouted, skipping over to them. Aiden bent down to pick her up. “Princess, how many of those yummy chocolates you have had?” he asked her. She sat silent for a minute or two before pulling her hands as wide as her shoulder and saying, “Umm, this many! Grandpa said we should have a chocolate eating contest, but we forgot how many we ate,” she said, looking at him innocently. He smiled, brushing off a bit of chocolate that was stuck at the edge of her mouth while internally wanting to bang his head against a wall. As much as he loved babysitting Aubrey, with grandpa along it was going to be hard; but doing so when they were both high on a sugar rush . . . he was pretty sure it was going to be disastrous.

  When he heard laughter behind him, he turned to see Grandpa trying to open an éclair, but the cover kept slipping out of his hands. Hearing a snort from the corner, Aiden turned to see Ashton filming the whole thing. He shook his head and walked towards his room. He had to check his mails and do some work, and he was pretty sure that they would be alright. Switching on his laptop, Aiden logged in to check his mail. Suddenly a little chat box popped up on the lower end of the screen. To his surprise, it was Jo. He sat there staring at the screen for a minute, wondering if he should reply or just ignore her, but seeing as she had done nothing wrong and it wouldn’t be fair to ignore her for his unreasonable anger, he decided to reply with a simple ‘hi’.

  JoWinters: Hi Aiden :)

  Aid Reid: Hey!

  JoWinters: How’s the party planning going on?

  Aid Reid: It’s pretty good. I’m actually babysitting Aubrey now.

  Aiden thought of ending this as fast as he could, but he just couldn’t ignore her. And he had no clue what to talk about, so he just sat there waiting for her reply.

  JoWinters: Cool! I’m at my uncle’s place and we are having a little party here, LOL! It’s so much fun. ;)

  Aid Reid: That’s great! Wait . . . If you are having a party, then why are you chatting with me?

  He knew it was a little rude to say that, but he was already pretty drained and didn’t quite have the ability to control his feelings; he was still upset about seeing her with someone else. He sighed, waiting for her reply again. When she didn’t reply for a while, he thought about sending her an offline message and signing off.

  JoWinters: Sorry about that, Abby called. I guess we need to order more pizza. :)

  Aid Reid: Josephine, I’m going to sign off now. I’ll see you later. Have fun!

  JoWinters: Are you busy?

  Aid Reid: Yeah, babysitting . . . remember?

  JoWinters: Oh! Alright, I’ll see you soon. Bye!=D

  Aid Reid: Sure, Goodbye!

  He logged off immediately and switched off his laptop, and decided to check on Aubrey, Pi
erre and Ashton. Walking back in to the living room, he saw that Alex had dropped in and was busy arguing with Pierre about the finer points of Tangled. The relationship they shared was so strange; Aiden knew that they loved each other, but it was like they couldn’t breathe if they weren’t arguing while sharing the same air or some such. He actually remembered an argument that they had had a few months ago about why the sky was blue and, yes, it was that ridiculous. Looking around, he saw that Aubrey had dozed off, curled up on the carpet in front of the TV with a blanket thrown over her to keep her warm, and Ashton looked no better with his eyes drooping shut every five minutes even though he valiantly tried to stay awake to see how the argument continued.

  Sighing, Aiden picked Aubrey up and got her settled in the bed in his room. Grandpa had declared he was tired and had taken over the guest room; he could already hear snores coming from there. Alex and Ash stood there looking at each other for a minute before jumping at the only available couch. Ashton jumped on it only to be pushed off it a minute later by Alex, who just gave him a raised eyebrow. Sighing, Ash pulled out the sleeping bag and snuggled in, all the while muttering about the unfairness of elder brothers. Aiden just grinned at them, said goodnight and walked into his room, slipping in next to Aubrey, who snuggled into him and fell asleep again.

  A little while later, the whole house was asleep except for Aiden. He tossed and turned, but there was this aching pain in his chest and he knew – as much as he denied it – that it was jealously. Thinking back to Jo’s face, he slowly drifted off to sleep, pushing all his problems away for the next day.

  - Chapter 12 -

  Beautiful Chances

  Nicholas woke up early to see Adelynn fast asleep next to him. She looked heavenly; her beautiful curls fallen over her face. When he pushed them back and kissed her cheek, she stirred a little; he decided to get up, but Lynn caught his arm.