“Alex?” He mumbles.
I look down as I finish bandaging him.
“I’m so tired, can we please go to bed?” Aidan asks.
I nod while going over to the mattress where we sleep, “Are you cold?”
“Yes, a little.” He admits as he curls up under a blanket beside me.
“Come here then.”
“Thank you.” He mumbles, burying his head into my chest.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I'm just really tired.”
“I can tell, tomorrow is your 15th birthday. We are off and it's a Sunday so what would you like to do?”
“Can we just hang out around here, I mean we can’t really go anywhere.”
I smile to myself, thinking of the ring I had bought him. Not a wedding ring, but a promise ring. I think he’ll like it, I mean he can’t wear it to jobs and stuff but he can have it at least. Looking down, I see him look up at me and I smile, “Go to sleep, I’ll be here in the morning.”
“I’m scared though.”
“We all are, sweetheart.”
About 3 weeks later, I’m at work and Aidan is sleeping after his first day of work. I get off in 30 minutes, and I am so tired.
“Alex?” I look down at the patient who I thought was asleep.
“Yes, are you okay?”
The young man looks up at me through foggy eyes, “I remember you.”
His green eyes... black hair... oh my god... Michael?
“Michael?”
“Yea, oh my god, where have you been.”
“You know what happened, Aidan is good too.”
He looks at me in shock, “He's alive? I didn’t think he'd make it...”
“Wait what do you mean? He wasn’t really in a bad shape, was he?”
“He was pretty badly cut and burned. He was also loaded with drugs and the whole list of things. We all didn’t know what to do, we called an ambulance, moved his body out of the house, and left him...” I see tears go down Michael’s face.
“How old are you now?” I ask.
“17.”
“You just had your birthday yesterday, right?”
“Yeah, you remember?”
“How could I forget? I always took care of you, you were like a little brother to me. I’ll find you a good place, I promise.”
“Thank you, I’m so tired, but how is Aidan?”
“I’ll show you a picture of him currently.”
I find a picture of him in the snow, and his cheeks are rosy... a big smile across his face... He looks happy. Happier than I ever saw him.
I show Michael the picture of Aidan, and he smiles, “He looks so much better.”
“Yeah, he lives with me currently, he is doing much better, he got a job and is getting his GED, I can’t even describe how well he's doing.”
“You remember Jacob?” Michael asks.
“Yea... is he alright?”
“He was with me before I ended up in the hospital, I don’t know, and I’m so scared.”
“Did you give them the location of where you were held?”
“No, if I do they’ll come after me.”
“Oh dear, I know. I didn’t say anything either. It’ll be okay, I’ll find you a group home that specializes in your type of needs.”
“Thank you.” He mumbles, before falling back asleep.
I end up going back home, and ready to go to sleep, but I know I must look up stuff for Michael. I get the information for my old group home and write it down. That is finally done, so I can lay down and go into a quite dreamless sleep.
I wake up the next afternoon around 2pm, and it is Saturday, we both have off. I get up and stretch before walking to the kitchen to see Aidan writing in a notebook on the balcony. His hair is falling into blonde curls around his face, and he looks... at ease. I smile, grabbing something to eat and drink before going out to the balcony too.
“Hey.” I sit down in the chair beside him.
He looks up at me, “Hey Alex.”
“You doing good?” I ask.
“Yea, I’m just writing a bit. How have you been?”
“I saw Michael, at work, he is in the ICU.”
“Wait. What?!” His eyes go wide in what I assume is shock.
“He's alive, and I’m trying to get him into the group home I was in.”
“Thank god, he's alive.” He exhales, while his body relaxes.
“Yea, he is. He told me some stuff and we talked. He isn’t in the greatest shape, but he’ll make it.”
“I thought he died.”
“Nope, he's still breathing... with assistance, but he is there.”
I see his eyes drop, and I know to drop the subject for now.
“You want to go to the park or something?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
“I just want to go for a drive, find a field or something, and just admire it. No curfew or job, just admire it.”
“How about at 5 pm, I know a place?”
He nods and smiles at me, “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
So at 5 pm, we were on the road. I know the field is roughly 30 minutes away and basically no one's there.
“Alex,” He asks softly, “Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we met under different circumstances?”
“I do, on occasion, but I’m thankful for our current.”
He nods and goes back to staring out the window in amazement.
Without much conversation, we end up at the area. It is an old road and ends in the middle of the clearing. He steps out first and looks around with wonder written across his face.
“Come on.” I smile, walking down to the little stream with rocks to sit on.
I take his hand to help him onto the rocks where he sits beside me. He grabs the blanket from me and throws it over the both of us. I see his blue eyes shine in the light as they trail in amazement. Now that I have actual moments to think, I realize... I love him. Well I’ve known, but now I really see it. The way he smiles, and when he looks at me, his eyes always have that light. The man I’ve watched grow up, had my first relationship with love involved, had my first time, and my first actual kiss. I never lost my love for him, I know that.
“You still love me?” He asks, meeting my eyes.
I peer down at Aidan slightly and finally, I nod, “I've never stopped.”
“I’m afraid.” He admits, making me look at him in concern.
“Why?”
“Because, I don’t do more than just cuddling, because I’m afraid that I’ll just want more and become who I used to be.”
“You didn’t do what did with consent, you did it because you were trafficked and forced.” I say as gently as possible.
“I’m still really scared.”
“You don’t have to be.”
He looks conflicted for a moment, “Are you sure?”
I nod and cup his face with my hand before leaning in. His lips are soft and bring back memories of what we had. His hand rests on my waist, and I smile as the feeling that something is missing slowly fades in that moment. There are no worries, no mental health issues, no past, just... love.
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