Finding Me (Love's Not Easy Series Book 1)

by Rickman, Nicole

  “If we have no big assignments, maybe we can work on your mom’s diary some more this week.”

  “That sounds great.”

  Piper and Lexi came in the room. “Hey, Aimee, there you are. James is here.”

  “Lexi too? Wow.” He smiled. “You two may convert this entire flat.”

  Aimee jumped up. “That is up to God. But, we’ll do our part too. Aiden, I will pray for you.”

  “Thanks, see you later.”

  The church service lasted longer than usual. The youth performed some contemporary worship songs that really uplifted everyone’s spirit. The kids had come so far since Aimee started going to church here. She had managed to get lots of stuff for them during Christmas break.

  The Holy Spirit was definitely present at Wise tonight. Rev Andrew preached on Proverbs 3:5-9. The message was about placing our trust in God, not ourselves or the world. He spoke of situations when he tried to do something himself and everything went wrong. When he read these verses, he realized what he did wrong, he put his trust in himself and not God. So, realizing, this he placed his trust in God and the situation turned out right.

  Aimee and Lexi sat in the back seat of the car on the drive back. Piper and Aimee was discussing the kids and how far they had come and an outreach program that the church was starting. The first meeting was on Tuesday.

  Lexi was sitting quietly in the back seat. Aimee noticed she was staring out the window. “Hey, Lex, are you ok?”

  “Yeah, I am thinking.”

  “What about?”

  “The message, it was great. I have never went to a service before when I felt like God was talking to me.”

  James grinned. “It was a strong message. I had never looked at those verses in that way before.”

  Piper turned around. “That is how God's word works. The Bible is God’s way of guiding us.”

  “Well, I am definitely going to join you guys more often.”

  “That is so great. I have some study books in my room; you can borrow any of them. In fact, Piper and I do a Bible study every night before bed, you can join us whenever you want.”

  “Thanks, I will let you know.”

  The flat was unusually quiet when the girls walked in. Sophia sat on the sofa watching the telly.

  Lexi sat beside her and took a handful of popcorn from her bowl. “Where are the guys?”

  “Gone. Like you guys were.”

  “Ok. Well, you left with your NCS friends and I didn’t know how late you would be, so I went to church with Aimee and Piper.”

  “Church, wow! Is the building still standing?”

  “Funny.” Lexi threw some popcorn at her.

  “They went to Marley’s Pub.”

  “Who?” Aimee and Piper entered from the kitchen with four sweet teas.

  “The guys went. Aiden was down in the dumps, Colin was trying to think of how to cheer him up and Josiah came in, suggested Marley’s and they were off.”

  Aimee didn’t want to hear any more, she went up to her room. Marley’s was the one pub that did not offer nonalcoholic beverages. In Neahovia, the legal drinking age was 18. Aiden’s disk was laying on her laptop with a sticky note. Hey, went out with the guys. We will be back in a little while. Here is my disk so you can get started. I’ll help when I get in.

  Aimee placed his disk in her laptop, downloaded his files, and began transforming the assignment into a PowerPoint presentation. She worked on it alone until it was fully, completed which was after midnight.

  She heard the guys come in around one. They were loud, especially Josiah. He came in shouting out profanities. Colin was trying to calm him down. As soon as he was in his bed, he passed out. They knew this because Colin yelled it to Aiden.

  Chapter Twelve

  The alarm went off at five a.m. Aimee turned it off and went downstairs. She made a pot of Aiden’s special coffee. Poured two cups and sat at the table. Aiden still did not come down so, when it was time for the sunrise, she took his coffee and drank it too.

  When she went up to get ready for class, he was in his bed, asleep in the clothes he had on the day before. Aimee felt so disappointed in him. She prayed that God would help him with his problems.

  Aimee took a relaxing shower and then dried her hair. She then rolled her hair in hot rollers and started on her makeup. She took her time because it was important to make a good impression. Part of the grade for the presentation was not only on how you spoke and your body language, but to make sure you left a memorable impression.

  Once her hair and makeup were done, she dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a red silk dress top with a grey floral design and a shirring drop waist. She had her grey trousers in a garment bag. She packed her laptop and all the stuff she would need to touch up her hair and makeup with in her bag.

  She went across the hall. Aiden’s alarm clock was buzzing extremely loud. She hit the off bottom. “Aiden, wake up.”

  He moaned so she shook him. “Aiden, wake up now, we have class in forty- five minutes.”

  He raised his head. “For real?”

  “Yes, for real. We have a quiz in our first class and then our presentation after lunch, let’s go!”

  “Ok. Stop yelling. Let me take a shower and I will be down.”

  “I will fix you a cup of strong coffee. And try a cold shower; maybe that will wake you up.”

  Aiden came down about twenty minutes later, not looking any better. “Here, drink this.” Aimee shoved the cup of coffee at him. “I have all the stuff for our presentation in my bag. You will be happy to know that, while you were out partying with the guys last night, I completed the power point. We can go over it at lunch in the library.”

  Their first class was Finance of Business and it lasted from 9-10. Professor Baxter told Aimee she could leave her bags in her office until she needed them, so she didn’t have to carry them around. When she dismissed class, Aiden told Aimee he was going to go back to the flat to rest and change into something better for their presentation. He was to meet her for lunch at eleven-thirty in the student union. They could eat, then go to the library and prepare for their one o’clock presentation.

  She waited until almost twelve on Aiden and then she ate her lunch and went to get her stuff from Professor Baxter’s office. She had called Aiden three times and, every time, it went to voicemail. She touched up her hair and makeup, changed into her grey slacks and red open toe heels. She finished the outfit with a grey sports jacket. She completed her look with a necklace, earring, and bracelet set of her mom’s.

  At twelve-forty, she called Aiden again. “Aiden, where are you? We need to go over the power point.”

  She sat in the library, tapping the desk with her nails. At twelve fifty, she called again. “Aiden, where are you? I am going to class, meet you there.”

  At five after one, Professor Lewis shut the door, symbolizing no further admittance to class. He started calling each group of two to the front of the room for their ten minute presentations. This was one of the small lab classes of twenty. He saved Aimee for last. “Mr. Kaiser and Miss Pittman.” Aimee took a deep breath and said a quick prayer as she walked to the front.

  “Miss Pittman, you seem to be missing half of your group.”

  “Mr. Kaiser was sick earlier today, he went to lie down and refresh before our presentation. He must have gotten worse.”

  “Are you prepared to do this alone?”

  “Yes, sir. We have worked side by side on this assignment.”

  “Very well, your ten minutes starts now.”

  Aimee turned to the class, introduced herself, and gave the title of her marketing project. She stood in front of her class and gave her presentation with grace, confidence, and poise. She hit every key point that needed to be made. She kept her classmates’ attention the entire time.

  Mr. Lewis sat at his desk. “Miss Pittman, you did an outstanding presentation.”

  “Thank you.”

  Mr. Lewis asked several male students ques
tions about parts of Aimee’s presentation; and then, he asked the same male students about the other female groups’ presentations. They knew the answers to Aimee’s, but struggled to answer questions concerning the others.

  Next, he asked the guys what they focused on in Aimee’s presentation, as well as the other girls’. Aimee’s was her confidence in her presentation, the others, they focused on their clothing. The other girls had on short skirts and low cut shirts.

  “I didn’t ask you this to embarrass the ladies. When you leave this university, and step out into the huge world of business, you are going to find the world will be hard. Please, don’t try to use your bodies to make it in the world. While it would help in some aspects, in the end, it only hurts you. When you stand in front of a board room to make a proposal, you need to be confident in the work you have done. Part of that confidence is won by how confident you dress.”

  At the end of the class, Mr. Lewis asked Aimee to stay. She knew he had not overlooked the absence of Aiden. “Mr. Kaiser is ill?” He started stacking papers in his briefcase.

  “Yes, he was not feeling well.”

  “The assignment was a group assignment. Unfortunately, half your group is missing.”

  “Yes, sir.” She still stood confident this was not her fault.

  He went back to his desk. “I need to review your presentation notes. Do you have the disk?”

  “Yes, sir, I have my disk, as well as Aiden’s. I also have the power point on a disk as well.”

  “I am to assume you have saved all this on your computers as well.”

  “I did, sir. I can’t speak for Aiden, but I am sure he did as well.”

  “I need to review these and think of my options on how to grade you and your partner’s work.”

  Aimee tried to fight tears. “Yes, sir.” Her voice was shaken when she spoke. She turned and walked to the door.

  “One more thing, Miss Pittman. Have Mr. Kaiser call my office and schedule a meeting with me tomorrow. Remind him the discussion we had about no special treatment.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Aimee wanted to run to the bathroom and cry. She was tempted to skip her last class of the day and go home. Unfortunately, she only knew Aiden in her Neahovia History class, so she had to go and take lecture notes.

  Julie and Ruby waited for her at the door. They followed her to the restroom, inquiring what the professor wanted. She told them more questions about Aiden’s absence. Aimee apologized about the comparison the professor made. They brushed it off. We thought he may give us extra points. Guess he showed us. Maybe you can go shopping with us someday and we can get new business outfits.

  Aimee used the lecture time to calm down. It was working too, until the walk home. The walk home just allowed her to think. She was crying hard when she entered the flat, slammed the door, and stomped up the stairs. She headed to Aiden’s room, laying her stuff in the hall floor. The next thing she knew, she was pulling his cover off the bed yelling at him. “I dare you! I dare YOU!” No need to fight the tears they were rolling down her face.

  He squinted his eyes. “Aimee, what are you doing?”

  “Me… What Am I doing? Well, I have been in class all day. Where have you been?”

  Aiden grabbed his head. “Aimee, please lower your voice my head hurts.”

  “I don’t care about your headache!”

  Aiden raised up and looked at his phone. “Oh man, Aimee, I am so sorry.”

  “Sorry will not fix this, Aiden.”

  “You should have called me.”

  “Check your phone, I did and do not turn this back to me, because I did my part in this presentation. Unlike you. Too hung-over to even get out the bed.”

  “That is none of your concern and I don’t appreciate your tone.”

  “It became my business when you no showed for class, and I had to put on a group presentation alone. And, Prince Aiden, I will use whatever tone I please right now.”

  Aiden got up. “Sorry, Aimee, I will talk to him.”

  “Yes, you will. He said to have you call his office and make an appointment for tomorrow.”

  “Excuse me.” He went to the restroom.

  Aimee waited by his bed until he returned; her face was red now and her black mascara was running down her cheeks. Aiden stumbled to his desk.

  “Aimee, I am in no mood for this, please…”

  “I really don’t care what you are or are not in any mood for. Your little drinking episode last night has made your problems and mine worse. It came back and hurt me today, Aiden. That is what happens when you drink. Sure, you have a hangover; but hey, what’s that to the fact that you jeopardized me being able to study in Neahovia. I have to pass every class with a certain grade to stay here. As an international student, I don’t have any do overs.”

  “Aimee, leave my room. I said I will talk to the guy.”

  Aimee started for the door. “When someone drinks, it always affects other people. For instance, today, I gave the best presentation I could. Professor Lewis even complimented me. I did that for me, not you. But, before I left, he said he will review our notes and see what he can do. One night of you drinking may ruin my life. I hope you are happier now.”

  “Aimee, don’t…”

  She shut the door and picked up her stuff from the floor. She had so much more she wanted to say; however, she was afraid of losing her cool with him. So, she went to her room, changed into a pair of teal lounger pants with matching shirt, and washed her face. She took out her memory book of her mom and cried for the next hour.

  Aiden’s head was pounding. He dared her come into his room and talk to him that way. She had no respect for him at all. The longer he sat, the more his anger rose. For one hour, he relived her shouting at him. Her words, her tones, and body gestures. He couldn’t control his anger any longer; he went to her room, let’s see how she likes it when the table is turned.

  Aimee was lying on her bed, crying, holding a book. “Aiden, please go away; I don’t want to do this right now.”

  “So, we can only talk when you feel like it? Who does that remind me of? I guess it is a girl thing. Well, I just have a few words to say and all you have to do is listen. What I do, is my own business. How I act, is my own business. So, I do not appreciate it, when you come barging into my room and speaking down to me. You think you and your religion is the only right way. Well, it’s not for everyone. So, in the future, please keep your thoughts….no, your opinions, to yourself. Like in drinking, it is your opinion it is wrong, but a lot of people disagree.”

  Aimee raised her head. “First of all, God’s word is not an opinion, but a fact. Secondly, as I stated previously, when you got drunk and let it interfere with an obligation you made to me, it became my business.”

  Aiden looked at her. “I have an appointment with the Professor Lewis at eight thirty in the morning. I will take care of your precious problem.”

  “How Aiden? How do you think you can take care of it? That presentation is a good portion of our grade. If I don’t ace every other assignment in that class, I can kiss Neahovia goodbye. He said to remind you of your discussion about no special treatment. You can’t fix this.”

  “I will take the bad grade, just relax.”

  Aimee grabbed a pair of shoes and coat from her closet and walked to the door. The others were standing in the hall. She turned to Aiden. “We wouldn’t have a problem to fix, if you hadn’t got wasted last night. Now your troubles have worsened and you pulled me right in the middle.” She headed to the stairs, but Aiden grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

  “What’s your problem, Aiden? Let go of me. That hurts.”

  He released her arm. “You don’t know the half of my problems, Aimee. I promise to talk to Professor Lewis tomorrow and solve your little problem.” He was very sarcastic.

  “Your promises no longer has any value with me.” She ran down the stairs and out the door. The wind stinging her face.

  Piper ran hard to ca
tch up with Aimee, she was really torn up. Aimee ran all the way to the lighthouse she had found on her second Sunday here when she went for a walk on the beach. Aimee sat on the sand, pulled her knees to her, and laid her head down.

  Piper fell onto the sand beside Aimee. “Shoo, we have got to start working out. Aimee, what happen?”

  Aimee filled her in on her day. Every word she said to Aiden. How he let her down because of his drinking last night.

  Piper felt so sorry for her. “Aimee, I am sorry, but I don’t think he meant to hurt you.”

  “I know it was not intentional. The drunk driver who hit my mom’s car and killed her, did not intend to do that either. But drinking and drugs alter your mind to the point you lose all rational thinking. It is the irrational thinking that gives us the unintentional results.”

  “I know and I wish I could solve this, but it is just like Rev Andrew preached last night, we need to trust God in times like right now.”

  “Yeah, you are so right. Pray with me.”

  Colin was furious with the way Aimee acted. She was being judgmental and pushing her beliefs on them. Typical female. Their way or no way. He was going to give her a piece of his mind when she got back. Aiden told him to stay out of it, that it was not his battle to fight. But he had a thing or two he like to say to Miss Perfect.

  Piper walked Aimee to the room and they prayed once more. She had convinced her to take a nap. When she shut the door, Colin was standing in the hall.

  “Go away, Colin.”

  “Move, Piper.”

  “No. Go away and leave her alone.”

  “She had no right to say anything to him.”

  “She had ever right and this is not your battle, so stay out.”

  “Oh, but it’s yours? You’re protecting her.”

  Piper looked at the door. “Just go.”

  “She doesn’t know the half of what he is dealing with.”

  “And he doesn’t know everything she is dealing with either.”

  “So her mom died, lots of people lose their mom at young ages.”

  “You don’t know anything. Her mother was killed by a drunk driver. Her paternal grandfather was an abusive alcoholic. He died two years ago because of liver damage caused by drinking alcohol. So to Aimee, today was just another way alcohol has destroyed her life.”