Page 23 of Saving Hanna
Chapter Sixteen
HANNA
Sitting in the living room enjoying the wine, I kept thinking back over the night and the explanation that Aiden had given for leaving the dining room with his father. I also wondered if he really meant what he said about not minding being engaged. It was a silly thought. After all, we had known each other for less than a month and things like that just don’t happen that fast.
Sitting in the quiet, enjoying my wine, the phone began to ring. Looking over to the table next to the armchair where it was placed. I stared at it, wondering if anyone was going to answer it. After the fourth ring, I decide that no one was around to answer it. Taking the initiative, I walked over to the table and said, “Drake residence.”
“Hanna, how lovely to hear your voice. This is Martin Drake.”
“Oh, hi. I’ll get Aiden for you. He is in the kitchen,” I replied.
“That won’t be necessary. I would love to chat with you for a bit. We didn’t get much of a chance at dinner and there are so many things that I’d love to know about you.”
“Okay… sure,” I said hesitantly wondering what he could want to know about me.
“I understand that you work at the diner. What are your plans after the two of you get married?”
“Yeah, about that. I think you may have been mistaken. Aiden and I are just friends. There are no plans for us to get married,” I confessed.
“Oh… now that’s a shame. I was really looking forward to having my son as the new CEO of Elite Exchange, but if he isn’t going to be getting married, I guess the deal he accepted will be off the table,” he began. “I suppose there is still time to find another woman to marry him. After all, he still has 60 more days to get it done.”
I couldn’t believe what I heard. Trying to hold back the hurt and the anger, I tried to understand what he just said. “Are you saying that in order for Aiden to get the CEO position at Elite Exchange he has to be married?”
“Yes, that is exactly what I’m saying. Surely, he must have told you. He only has two months left until his thirtieth birthday, otherwise the deal is off. If he is able to obtain a wife, then he will have fulfilled the first part of the contract.”
“The first part?” I questioned.
“Yes. In order to retain his position as CEO, he must give me a grandchild by the time he is thirty-five. Just think, I will be a grandfather.”
I was completely speechless. All I could hear was Mr. Drake’s voice on the other end. “Hanna, are you still there?” over and over again.
I couldn’t say a word. My heart just broke in two knowing that just like high school, I had been used.Two guys… different circumstances... same outcome.I could feel my chest begin to tighten and all I wanted was to get far away from here. I felt like such a fool. Everything that Aiden said to me was a lie. He was baiting me for his own personal gain. What hurt the most was that I was falling in love with him. How stupid could I have been? Never again.
~*~*~*~
When I walked through the front door of Aiden’s house, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get home. I couldn’t just take his car again, and I certainly couldn’t wait for a taxi to come and get me. I needed to get away from this place fast. Removing my heels, I began running down the driveway as fast as I could. It was seven miles back into Houston and if I walked, I could get there in about two hours.
Turning right onto the main road, I realized this was the last place I thought I would find myself. Walking in the dark, alone on a back road, with the possibility of being run over. I knew that sooner or later Aiden would find that I had left the house and come after me. Looking behind me, it was as though he could hear my thoughts as my phone began to ring. I knew that the only person it could be was him. Pulling it from my small purse, I looked down at the screen to find that my guess was correct. Hitting ignore, I increased my pace and kept walking. I had already said what needed to be said.
Paranoid, I couldn’t help but look behind me. I knew it would be a matter of minutes before Aiden would be behind me. My heart jumped when I saw a light coming towards me. I was just about to run for cover when I noticed that it wasn’t a car, but a motorcycle coming. Waving my hands in the air, I tried to get the driver's attention.
When he pulled over, I was surprised to find that it was a woman underneath the helmet that she removed. Stopping just shy of her, I said, “I could really use a ride.”
“Well, hop on then,” she said, handing me the helmet that was secured to the seat behind her before continuing. “Where you headed?”
Giving her my address, I place the helmet on my head and hiked up my dress so that I could straddle the bike. Looking behind me as she took off, I prayed that Aiden wouldn’t catch up to us. There was no way that I could face him after what I had just learned. If I never saw him again, that would be too soon.
Even though it was only a fifteen minute ride to my house, it felt longer. I couldn’t wait to get off the bike of my new friend, who listen to my pathetic story. I wasn’t sure how much of it she actually heard, but it felt good to let it out.
When I entered my home, the only thing that I could think of was removing the dress that reminded me so much of Aiden. It didn’t matter how good it looked on me. Stripping it from my body, the way I felt hit me like a rock. I guess it’s true that you go through different stages of grief. First, there was the shock of knowing what Aiden’s goal was in getting to know me better. Then the anger that I could allow myself to be played that way. Let’s not forget about the guilt: the shame of being used. And now the hurt; the sadness of never feeling him near me or seeing his beautiful smile.
Taking my sad ass to the bathroom, I thought that maybe if I could wash away the pain, it would be easier for me to forget about him and move on. The first step to getting back to who I was, was to remove all traces of the night. Starting with my face, which looked like a portrait gone bad, I grabbed my face wash and worked it into a lather. Rubbing every inch of my face, the make-up that I had applied was being removed by the suds. At least it was a start in getting rid of any memory of the night. If only I could wash away the pain that was still burning in my heart.
~*~*~*~
Sitting in my pajamas, I never realized how quiet my house really was. There was one thing about the quiet that I really hated; it managed to home in on your thoughts and make you think of things that you wanted to forget. Sinking lower on my couch, I grabbed a pillow and held it across my chest as though it could help heal my broken heart. Leaning my head against the back of the couch, I looked to the ceiling and asked, “Why does this keep happening to me?” hoping that God would answer me.
BANG! “What the hell was that?” I said to myself. It sounded like the sky had just exploded. Looking out the window, my eyes were focused on something that they shouldn’t have been. Across the street, one of the men that lived at the house was pointing a gun at another man who I had never seen before. Even though it was dark, the light of the headlights made it very easy to see what was going on. With another shot, this time to the head, the man fell backward. I was paralyzed, I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. Money and drugs fell out of the man’s hand as soon as he hit the ground. It was like a scene from a cop show, only I was seeing it for real.
Focusing on the man still holding the gun, I watched him scramble to pick up the money and drugs while two other guys picked up the dead guy and started carrying him the car with the lights on. Before I could move away from the window, their eyes were on me. I reached over and turned off the lamp, but knew that it was too late, I’d been seen.
Scrambling to my feet, there was no doubt that they would be coming for me. I had no idea where I was going to go. I had nowhere to hide and worst yet, I had no car to escape in. Picking up my phone from the side table, I only had one choice.
“Aiden, you were right about the guys across the street. They just shot a guy and now they are after me. If I don’t make it, I just want you to know. I would have married you.” I hoped the message was enough to get these guys, but more than that, I hoped Aiden knew that I had already fallen in love with him.
