Read Online Aidan by Sydney Landon - Free Book Online

Otherwise, we’d probably both be crying on the sidewalk. Chris walked a few steps away and motioned me over while Ginny sat on a nearby bench and looked at her phone. “Please let me know if you need anything at all. I realize I haven’t been around, and there’s no excuse.” I felt so ashamed of my failure that it was hard to meet Chris’s eyes. I knew he saw everything I was thinking. How would I tell Lia? How would I admit the repercussion of my failure to her? Fuck.
    He looked over at his wife before turning back to me. “I think you know the one thing you can do for me.” I stared at him, trying to make sense of his statement. He already told me they had a good doctor and were happy with the treatment plan. What was he talking about? Then his cryptic words hit me.
    “Aidan.” Regardless of what had been said earlier, he wanted his son to know what’s going on, but couldn’t— wouldn’t— betray his wife’s wishes. Now, I could provide him a way around that.
    He hugged me without acknowledging that I spoke. “We’d better get going. Ginny doesn’t like to be late. I love you, son.” He retraced his steps to his wife, and I stood frozen in place when they crossed the street and entered the door of the imposing brick building.
    I made my way back to my office in a daze torn between Ginny and Chris’s wishes. But in the end, was there really any choice? I failed them by staying away for so long, but that was going to change. It was time.
    Time for Aidan to come home as well. He’d never recover if he lost his mother while not knowing the extent of her illness. Therefore, I tap on my keyboard and pull up my email screen. My hands hover over the keys as I ponder what to say, before finally settling on the direct approach. I’ve never been one for drama, so Aidan will know immediately that things are dire.
    Your mother is very sick. They haven’t told you the extent of it. You need to come home ASAP.
    Luc
    I look at the flashing cursor for a few seconds before clicking on the send icon. I didn’t want to mention the word cancer over email. That’s something his parents should tell him in person. But if I know my friend and brother, what I have said will send him packing and on his way home very soon. After months of wanting him to come back, this is absolutely not how I saw it happening. I find no joy in the prospect of his return now. Instead of the relieved reunion I envisioned, it will only be filled with more torment for a man who has endured enough for a lifetime.
    aidan

    I have no idea how long I’ve been sitting on the beach. But it must surely be well after midnight by now. I hadn’t had a nightmare in weeks, actually since Kara began sharing my bed. The one that had woken me tonight had been so painfully vivid that my hands still shook slightly from it. Strangely enough, it was after these dreams that I usually missed home the most. Luc had a wife and baby now, but I had no doubt he’d be there for me in a moment, should I call. That is if I wasn’t hiding away from the world as I was doing now. I had needed to leave, that much was still true. I wouldn’t have coped if people had treated me with kid gloves and walked around me as if on eggshells. Sympathetic glances. Halted conversations upon my entry. No. When I return, it won’t be as if Cassie’s death had only been a week ago. Time, and my friends, has marched on. And as much as my recovery began in solitude while being away, it is time to return. It’s time to surround myself with those who understand and care about me. It’s time.
    I had surprised myself earlier when I told Kara about Cassie. It wasn’t something I’d intended, but before I knew it, the story had spilled from my lips. And along with it, possibly a little of the pain I’d been carrying around for so long. At least that’s what I thought. But then the fucking nightmare had me teetering on the edge once again.
    I pull my cell phone from my pocket, not knowing