Aaron

A Chapter by JustJasmine

aron had always known Nina would eventually be his, but he was never jealous of his brother John. He was simply biding his time. But if he had known John would die, he never would have set his eye on Nina. It had always been love at first sight for Aaron, well, if you were romantic enough to call it that.

He remembered the very first time he had laid eyes on her. It was the first day of school for his senior year. She had been walking in the quad, a novel open in her hand, looking down as she walked. Her hair was long and curled, the color of perfect summer corn, blond but not in a way that immediately labeled her as ditsy.

Aaron couldn’t remember exactly why he had been in the quad at that time of day, but he had been standing a distance away from her, entranced. And just like that, she looked up at him and smiled as she passed by. For once in his life, Aaron actually looked cool and calm. He had been leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets, wearing the brown leather jacket his mother had insisted on buying him for his first day as a senior. He remembered he had been completely stubborn about the jacket; it had cost entirely too much for one item of clothing. But he had worn it. She had made him wear it.

“Maybe it will bring you luck,” she had told him that morning.

How was it that mothers always ended up being right?

But a few months later, when John had brought Nina over to meet his family, Aaron could not have felt worse. Feeling like a complete idiot, he stayed away from Nina as best he could. His brother was too dear to him to let a girl come between them. Not once did he ever admit his feelings for Nina to John. But now that John was gone, Aaron knew there was no use trying to hide anything. His brother was always there somehow, watching over him. Or maybe he was judging him. Maybe when Aaron died, John would be the one to decide if he should go to heaven or hell.

Aaron sighed and squeezed his eyes shut. He hated that he thought this way. He needed to get away from everything and just think. He took his Jeep and headed north, away from the city to his favorite clearing of land. It was near the top of a mountain. The road took him up and up, around and around, until finally he reached the top. He could see the city from the seat of his car. But he got out anyway, stretching his legs. He could see the bridge from up there with its surreal lights glowing across the water. Everything always looked better at night from up there. The city looked cleaner and more magical. He could forget about people and problems and remember that they were all part of a city, a community.

Aaron looked up at the sky. Although it was dark, he could see the outline of clouds hovering above. It was going to rain soon. He could smell it in the air.

He still couldn’t believe his little brother was gone. It was like John was out somewhere on a road trip or something and would be back eventually. But that was impossible. He was at Grady Town Cemetery, buried six feet under the ground.

Aaron felt an involuntary tear slide down his cheek, but he didn’t wipe it away. He hadn’t cried at the funeral. He felt he needed to be strong for his mother. She needed him now more than ever to look after the family, so that was what he did. Or, rather, what he had been trying to do.

“Hey,” he head a voice behind him say.

Aaron jumped but tried to act like he hadn’t and turned around to see Nina standing there.

“I didn’t hear you drive up,” Aaron told her.

“Oh, I walked, actually.”

“You walked?”

“Yeah, it’s really not that far from my house.”

Aaron nodded without saying anything, knowing full well Nina’s house was at least three miles away, all the way at the bottom of the mountain.

A moment of silence passed between them but a boom of thunder interrupted, and just like that, it began to pour. Nina screamed but she was smiling.

“Get in the car!” Aaron yelled to her over the noise of the storm. They ran to the car, both with arms raised over their heads for protection only in vain. They were already soaked.

Nina jumped into the passenger seat, and Aaron could hear her breathing heavily from the run. He glanced at her; she looked even more beautiful with her hair wet. The sound of the rain pounding on the car filled their ears. Aaron turned his headlights on, but he didn’t drive away. He didn’t know what to do. Ever since TCBY, he hadn’t known how to act around her. It wasn’t that he was trying to win her over; he wasn’t. He really just wanted someone to talk to, and she knew could relate to what he was going through because she was going through it too, although her loss was a bit different. He had lost a brother, but she had lost a boyfriend. Somehow, it seemed that was worse.

“You look so much like him,” she said in practically a whisper. Aaron’s heart fluttered.

“I do?” he asked, knowing full well that he did.

“Yeah, you do,” she said and quickly looked away from him.

When Aaron and John were little, people would ask if they were twins. Aaron always was annoyed by it since clearly he was older and taller. But when John went through his growth spurt, he had grown just a little bit taller than him, and then the tables were turned. Everyone thought John was the oldest. But now, Aaron wished he didn’t look like anyone but himself.

“I’ll take you home,” he told her.

Nina didn’t argue.