"Thanks Aunty Kels," he said as he smiled at her.
"No problem sweetheart," she replied before moving to the side and allowing Bob to get through.
"Happy birthday kiddo, make sure you cut me a nice big slice of cake," Bob said as he patted his belly.
"God knows that it has to be big to fill that thing," Grandma said, gesturing towards his belly as we all started to laugh.
"One of these days this belly will be gone and you will miss it Moms."
"Yes and pigs will fly deary," Grandma said, causing Aiden to burst out laughing.
It was nice to hear him laughing so freely. It had been six weeks since the whole incident with Jake and believe me, it was tough. Firstly, Aiden was having constant nightmares for a week straight about being run over. I started to stay with him for a few nights after that until they eventually calmed down. I also found myself the victim of Crystal's motherly suffocation. Her heart was in the right place but her worrying and constant fussing did start to drive me crazy. It wasn't half as bad as when my mom got back from England though. Aunt May passed away, the night after the accident and so they all stayed an extra week to sort out all of the arrangements. Susan and I both agreed not to tell my mom about the accident with Jake until they got back. She was mad of course but eventually she accepted the decision and moved on.
Then there was Kyle. I had been right about his mom hiding something from me and it wasn't a little something either. He woke up the morning after the accident and I was one of the first to see him but when I got there I didn't expect to see what I did. The accident had left Kyle unable to walk which made my guilt levels reach an all new high. To say that I was devastated would be an understatement. Kyle told me two things when I went to visit him that morning. The first thing was that the doctors said that there was every chance that he would walk again as his injuries were not permanent. They had said that with enough physio and a bucket full of determination it could happen one day. Kyle was a fighter, believe me and he had bundles of determination but I wasn't sure how far that would get him after how fragile he looked that day and it broke my heart. The second thing that he told me, for some reason seemed even worse though. He asked me not to visit him after that day, he had explained that he didn't want me to feel guilty or to watch him suffer. He told me that the next time that I'd see him, he would be walking again. I remember just smiling weakly as he said those words but I never argued with him about it, I understood his request. I don't know how long it would be before he walked again but I truly missed him. The craziest part about this whole situation was the change in relationship between Kyle and Aiden. Every day after school Aiden committed to visiting Kyle. Even when we all told him to take a day off he refused, he had made it his duty and on the odd day when he couldn't make it he would send in his right hand man, Anthony. He didn't talk much about his visits which I think was due to Kyle asking him not to discuss them with me but from what I did know they were working together on his physio. It was the strangest and most unlikely friendship but somehow it worked. Aiden didn't tell me much about Kyle's condition but when I spoke to him a couple of days ago he accidently let slip that Kyle was nowhere near walking yet which broke my heart. I guess I will have to wait on a miracle.
I also started to go back to church which has been amazing. I felt so blessed after everything that happened with Kyle and Aiden that I felt drawn to going back. I felt thankful. I made sure to always say a little prayer for Kyle, I only hope that they are being heard.
Jake was admitted into a mental institution which I think was the right place from him based on how far he had gone. I felt a little sorry for him actually, I couldn't imagine life being so bad that I could be driven to do something so evil. I received a letter from him a couple of weeks ago which came as a huge surprise. It took me a whole day to build up the courage to open it and when I finally did, I found the word sorry written in bold, black letters, spread across the page. I spent the entire night crying after that. It was like closure, at last.
"You ok?" Aiden asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"Now that you're here, yes," I said as I hugged him.
"Happy birthday," I whispered into his ear.
"Thank you, beautiful."
Aiden and I had become even closer over the past few weeks and I loved it. He truly was my best friend. Don't get me wrong, Crystal is still my best friend but it was a different kind of relationship and a special bond. I felt like he completed a part of me that I had searched so long to find. It sounds absolutely crazy but it's as if he is my soul mate.
"So, I hear that someone is planning on making the birthday boy sing," I said as I gestured towards Susan.
"No way," Aiden said with a grin on his face.
"Well good luck avoiding her," I said as I started to laugh. Once Susan had an idea, she would stop at nothing. Where else do you think that Crystal got it from?
"Hey Edward and Bella can I break you up for a minute, I need to borrow Mr Sparkles," Anthony said as we burst out laughing.
"I didn't think you'd know about a film like Twilight," Aiden teased.
"I didn't until madam here forced me to watch it. My eye balls were burning after about an hour of torture," he said as he pointed at Jess.
"Oh, stop lying, you loved it, you big girl," Jess said as she hit his arm playfully.
"No I didn't, I only liked that bit when the red chicks neck got snapped off. That was the most action in it," he replied.
"That's because it's a love story Anthony, it doesn't focus on violence," Aiden said, sarcastically with a big smirk on his face.
"Oh, it seems someone liked it then," Jess said as she raised her eyebrows up at Aiden.
"I never said that."
"Oh, but you implied it which means I'm making you watch the other three and take me to the movies to watch Breaking Dawn part two," I teased.
"What! No way it's my birthday you can't do that," he argued as we all tried to hold in our laughs.
"Dude, your birthday won't last forever," Anthony said as he winked at Aiden.
"I should have known these two losers weren't intellectual enough to appreciate the master piece that is Twilight," Jess scoffed.
"Whatever, Twilight smilight. Let's go, the guys need you for a minute," Anthony said as he walked off towards Murphy and Taise.
"See you in a bit," Aiden said as he gave me a peek on the cheek.
"See how sweet that was Anthony. Where's my kiss on the cheek?" Jess said sarcastically.
"Not everyone rolls like that baby, if I gave you them all of the time you'd be spoilt and a bigger brat than you already are. Here, take this one," he said as he blew her a kiss.
I couldn't help but laugh as she caught the fake kiss, pretended to rip it up into little pieces and then stamped on it.
"That's what you can do with that," she growled at him.
"Aww baby, you're breaking my heart, really," Anthony said before winking at Jess and then walking off.
"I swear I don't hurt him enough," she said as she tried to hide the smile that was forming on her face. Those two are just too cute.
"Now, now Jess violence is never the answer," I said as we both burst out laughing.
"Hey, did you sort out Aiden's surprise?" Crystal whispered as me and Jess approached her.
"Yeah but do you honestly think that he'll like it?" I asked, nervously.
"I hope so. It's what he wants, he just has to be shown," she said as she chuckled quietly.
"I suppose you're right," I agreed.
"All men have to be told, it's why women were created," Jess said as we all nodded in agreement.
"I'll be back in a second then," I said as I quickly disappeared out of the living room door.
I pulled out my cell, scrolled to the name I wanted and pressed call. It wasn't long before I heard the voice that I wanted to.
"Hey," I beamed down the phone.
"Hello angel, are you ok?"
"I am now yes, I missed yo
u," I said, truthfully.
"I miss you too. I'm sorry that I couldn't make it tonight, I was just really tired," he replied.
"It's ok, there's always next year," I said hopefully, with a smile on my face.
"Yes there is besides I've got Aiden's present here so it gives you both an excuse to come and see me."
"We don't need an excuse, we love visiting you," I said, honestly.
"Well, I love it when you guys visit too, it always brightens up my day."
"How did the treatment go today?" I asked, nervously.
"It went well. I still think that nurse Jefferson has the hots for me," he said as he chuckled to himself.
"You do realise that the woman's like sixty years old, right?" I said as I began laughing.
"Yes, they are the worst believe me."
"You're probably right. Anyway, I 'm going to have to get back in before a search party is formed," I said with a grin on my face.
"Crystal?" he asked.
"Of course," I replied as we both began to laugh.
"Well, you take care angel and enjoy the rest of your night, ok?"
"I will, you too."
"Bye," he said.
"Bye. Oh and one more thing," I said as I took a deep breath.
“Yeah?”
"I love you...Dad."
"I love you too Appy," he said before the line went dead, leaving me with the biggest grin on my face.
"How was he?"
"He sounded great, a little tired but happy," I said as my mom took a couple more steps towards me.
"That's because he has you sweetheart. He's very proud of you, you know, in fact we all are," she said with a smile on her face.
"Thanks Mom," I said as I smiled at her.
"And Ed, he's a fighter, if anyone can get through this then he can especially since he has something so precious to live for," she said as she stroked a strand of my hair behind my ear.
"I know," I whispered as I tried to hold back the tears.
"Right, let's get back in there and celebrate that cute boy’s birthday," she said as we both burst out laughing.
"Mom, are you trying to hit on my boyfriend?" I teased.
"Well, if I was just a couple of years younger sweetie," she said with a wide grin on her face.
"Just a couple?"
"Hey, I'm not that old I'll have you now. I'm young and hip lol," she said as I burst out laughing.
"What? It means laugh out loud doesn't it?" She asked with a confused expression on her face.
"Yes but the very fact that you just said it out loud proves my point," I said as I tried to stop the tears of laughter from rolling down my cheeks.
"Oh, I can't keep up with you kids," she said as we walked into the living room.
I love my mom.
"Right people, it's movie time!" Susan shouted as she faced the crowd.
"Oh dear, here we go," Crystal mumbled, not quite quietly enough.
"I heard that, my beloved daughter," she said as she raised an eyebrow at Crystal.
"Oh believe me Mother, you were supposed to," she replied with a smirk on her face.
Crystal and Susan had been getting on so well since she had left her job. Susan spent more time at home and more importantly more time with Aiden and Crystal. It reminded of the old days when I used to come round, it was really sweet.
"Film time?" Marissa asked in confusion.
I forgot that she was new to all of this since becoming the newest member of our group. She fit in well and everyone seemed to get on with her. She and Murphy still shared the same wonderfully entertaining banter which was honestly, just fun to watch.
"Yes, Susan uses any occasion as an excuse to show old movies of the kids when they were growing up," my mom whispered as we all chuckled, quietly.
"Sssh it's about to start," Susan said as she turned off the lights.
"Well, I can't see a damn thing if you turn off all of the lights, can I woman?" Gramps said as we all began to laugh even louder.
"It's ok Pops, this is a special show. It's showing the cast of touched by an angel when they were younger," Bob, jumped in causing me to bite my tongue as I tried not to laugh even more.
"Oh, well why didn't you say before, Phillip? Somebody turn it up please," Gramps replied as Aiden reluctantly grabbed the remote and hit the volume button a couple of times.
* * *
After an hour of sitting through pictures and small movie clips of us all growing up, it was nearly coming to an end. The video was lovely and Susan had put it together so that there was something on there that represented each year of Aiden's life. The pictures and footage got less as he got older but it was still a lot of beautiful memories.
"Thanks Mom, that was lovely," Aiden said as he gave her a tight hug, causing us all to say 'aww' of course.
"Anything for my baby," she replied before giving him a kiss on the cheek and leaving the print of her red lips on his face. I was going to tell him but Anthony found it much more amusing to convince us to all stay quiet about it. That guy was such a kid sometimes but I loved him.
"So, can I borrow you for a minute?" Aiden asked as everyone began talking and mingling.
"Sure," I said as I jumped up off of the floor and followed him out of the living room, closing the door behind me.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Here," he said as he handed me my jacket that had been hung up on the coat rack by the front door.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere," he replied with a smile on his face.
"Aiden, it's your party, you can't just go," I said as I followed him out of the front door with a smile on my face.
"Nobody will notice," he said as he jumped into the driver’s seat of his beloved mustang.
"So, why are we leaving?" I asked.
"I have something for you," he said with a smile on his face.
"You have something for me, on your birthday?" I asked as I smiled at him.
"Yup."
"You really are something else Mr Daniels."
"Isn't that why you love me?" He asked with a smirk on his face.
"It's not the only reason, believe me."
As we drove down the many different roads, I found myself getting bored and so I busied myself playing a silly game in my head. I decided to see how many green cars I could spot before we arrived at our destination. It was a game that Bob used to always play with me when we were taking a long journey. I had pretended that I'd grown out of it but I secretly loved it.
I was on green car number eleven when we finally came to a stop.
"So, how many did you find?" Aiden asked as he turned to look at me.
"Huh?"
"Green cars?" He asked with a smirk on his face.
"How did you know?" I asked in shock as I started to laugh.
"I make it my duty to know everything about you," he said before winking at me and then getting out of the car.
We had come to a stop at a park that I hadn't been to before but it was beautiful. It was quite dark out and only the stars shone down where we were. There was a gentle breeze that made me feel so calm and happy.
"Right, I need you to close your eyes so that I can put this on you," Aiden said as he smiled at me.
"A blindfold?" I asked as I raised my eyebrows in the air.
"Trust me," He said with a smile on his face that just melted my heart.
"Go on then."
"Ok," he said before gently placing the black piece of material over my eyes and tying a comfortable knot at the back.
"Is that ok?" He asked.
"Yup."
"Can you see?"
"Nope."
"Good, then we are all set. Now all I need you to do is hold my hand and let me guide the way, ok?" He asked.
"Yes sir," I said sarcastically.
Suddenly I felt Aiden tickle me on the side, causing me to squirm like a fish and squeal like a seal.
"Ok, ok, sorry," I managed to scream as the laug
hter caused my eyes to water underneath the blindfold.
"Good girl, now let's go. Keep walking forward," he said as he held my hand firmly and led the way.
"Ok stop and then take a big step because there's a stone right in front of you."
"Ok."
"Good, now keep going forward," he said as he began humming a tune that I recognised.
"That's it now turn left and then keep walking straight ahead," he said as he continued to hum away to himself.
"How much longer?" I moaned as my patience began to wear thin.
"Not far now beautiful," he whispered as he continued to walk.
I suddenly realised what the song was. It was the one that he had written and performed that night at his music school. I went to comment but he stopped me before I got the chance.
"Ok, we're here."
"Great, can I take it off now?" I asked.
"In two minutes, now I just want you to stay here and when I say take it off then I need you to do that, ok?" He said as he gently let go of my hand.
"You're leaving me on my own?" I asked in a panic.
"Of course not, I'll be right here just trust me, ok?" He asked.
"Ok," I said reluctantly.
"Now don't take it off until I say, ok?" He asked.
"Ok."
"Good, I'll see you in one minute," he said before kissing me gently on the lips leaving me stood smiling to myself. If anyone could see me now, I would look rather crazy.
I heard his footsteps become a little distant as he walked away and I had to keep telling myself to stay calm. After what felt like an eternity, I finally heard his voice.
"Ok, you can take it off," he said gently.
"About time," I grumbled as I took my hands to the back of my head and began to untie the knot. He hadn't done it too tight and I found it quite easy to undo. Once it was undone and in my hands I took in the amazing view of this unknown park. I was stood a few metres from a lake and as the moon and stars glistened away it looked absolutely breath taking. The only thing that was missing from this picture was Aiden. Once I finally finished admiring the view, I span around to see where he was but he was gone.
"Aiden? Where are you?" I said, feeling a little uneasy.
When there was no answer I began to get frustrated until I heard a noise from behind me. As I span around in fear, I suddenly froze as I took in what was in front of me. I watched in complete shock as Aiden stepped slowly towards me, pushing something ahead of him.
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