Chapter 30 : friend or enemy

Aiden scurries in pulls the man who was about to beat Eric's head with a baton in his hand, she turns him, her fists clutter on his face and puts a hole in his stomach. The man hits the ground and the other four men march towards her. Before they lay a finger on her, Riley lunges in and throws a punch at the man closer to her. Eric looks up taken back, his eyes wide surprised, the only question in his head: What are they doing? The five men fight against the two but couldn't lay a finger on them. One of the men steps aside and tramples nearer to Eric, he pops a pocket knife. Eric pushes him when the knife cuts his hand meat, the man cocks the knife and hops forward. In a blink of an eye the man is pushed to the wall, Riley gets a good hold on him and shoves him against the wall. The five men flee out. Riley adjusts the collar of his shirt, he clears his throat and turns to meet Aiden to question about her actions. 'Aiden sissy," the little boy runs to her. He hugs her legs and looks up at her. Eric furrows his brows, holding his injured left arm he stands with the help of his wife, a dry yelp leaves his lips when pain shoots through his body. 'Shirley, You okay?," she squats down and pats his head lovingly. 'Yes," he nods showing the set of small white teeth, his hidden dimple visible 'You are so cool," he giggles 'You're like a superwoman," his small tender hands cup her face, the delightful pair of tiny eyes stare at her 'You are the best," his sweet voice comes out low 'I wish I grow up soon," he pouts. 'Why?," Aiden asks in a low voice. 'So, I can marry you soon," he smiles as he removes his hands from her face, and tiptoes, he kisses her on the cheek. Cough! Cough! Cough! Riley fakes a cough and strolls to the other side next to Aiden. 'Oh! My Atta boy," Riley carries him 'Your dream girl is already taken," he says. 'Who are you?," Shirley asks crunching up his tiny nose, he curls his brows and moves his back glancing at Riley. 'I'm Riley, Aiden's boyfriend," Riley answers like a teacher informing student regarding the parents meeting. 'Uncle Riley," 'Uncle?," the word leaves his mouth without his consciousness, he stares at Shirley and raises his brows questionably. 'Aiden sissy loves me more," Shirley crosses his arms over his chest and lifts his chin high in the air 'She is mine," he announces. 'Yours?," Riley asks, he moves his head closer to the little one 'She loves me more," he smirks 'She is mine," he moves his head closer and places his forehead on Shirley's. 'No, mine!" the adorable voice growls. 'She is mine," 'Mine! She had kissed me," Shirley wriggles to get down from Riley's hands. 'Kissed?," Riley grins and keeps Shirley down, he sniffs and looks up at Riley pursing his pink plump lips, Riley stares down the right corner of his lips twitch upwards to a smirk 'She has kiss....," Aiden elbows him at the side of his stomach before he could complete his sentence ‘she has kissed me intimately'. 'Aiden," Eric mentions her name, her name rolling down his tongue foreign as for the first time it came out gentle 'Thanks," he says in his cold voice, for once with no ego. Aiden nods her eyes never meets his, she passes a smile at his wife and a high five to Shirley whose smile never disappeared. 'Let's go," she calls Riley. They walk out. 'Mommy," Shirley jumps forward to his mom 'Aiden sissy is like an angel," he giggles. 'Yeah dear," she says and faces Eric who keeps his eyes fixed on the door unable to believe that Aiden helped him. 'She is such a nice girl," Eric looks at his wife curiously. 'You know her?," he asks. 'Yes," she nods 'Two years ago, She was the one who took me to the hospital after the car crash," she says 'It was a coincidence when she brought Shirley home after he lost his way from school, they hang out together often" Eric remains silent for a moment, he sits on a chair and his wife sits opposite to him, he looks at her 'Has she ever told you anything about me?" he asks afraid at the thought of his wife and child knowing his true colours. 'I recognised her uniform and asked her once, she told me that you both are friends and not to you about her, Honey," Eric faces her 'Aren't you all friends?," she questions. 'Aren't you all enemies?," Riley asks as he slides into the driver's seat, one leg stretched out the open door. 'Not exactly," she gives a blunt reply and buckles the seatbelt. 'Then are you all friends," 'Nah," she exhales 'We just hate each other, it doesn't mean we are enemies," 'Do you know who were those men?," he asks a list of questions to clear his curiosity. 'No," 'Then why did you help him? Eric might be the one in wrong," 'I wouldn't help if he was alone," 'Was it because of that little boy?," Aiden nods, Riley stares at her for few seconds and sits back, the car starts and he drives. The living room lights, Riley hugs the doll and dumps himself on the couch. He lays on the sofa staring up at the roof , his inner voice ticking every second. He sits straight when the room door creeks open, his gaze travels to Aiden when she walks to the kitchen 'Your house window and lock is fixed," she says, tearing the packet of chips open she puts it in a large bowl. 'Yeah, I know," Riley exhales, he lowers his head looking down at the carpet when she sits on the couch beside him, he faces her when she moves the bowl to his view 'So?," he asks. 'So," she bites the chip and stares at him with furrowed brows 'So, Aren't you going home?," 'Oh my god," he scowls as he drops his head and clasps his hand on his chest 'Are you chasing me out?" he wails. 'Chasing?," Aiden repeats looking at him 'Is this called chasing?," she questions in a low stern voice, like asking herself. He pouts and faces her 'What if someone barges in again and kill me?," he babbles, the corners of his lips are dragged down, his eyes almost arched. 'Are you trying to fool me?," she sits back and switches on the television 'I know that you can fight back," she exhales, making herself comfortable she pays attention to the screen. He blinks multiple times, the pair of puppy eyes which can never be neglected. He sniffs and turns away. The surrounding takes over silence. 'Anyway you are also alone right?," Riley faces her again. Aiden hums and nods. 'I'll leave after Lisa comes back," he says, his voice finally back to normal from being dramatic. 'Okay," she exhales her eyes fixed to the television. 'Great," he beams and looks straight at the movie which started. A minute of silence passed 'How do you know that little boy?," Riley breaks the ice. 'Shirley?," He blinks 'Yes!," 'Coincidence," she gives a quick dry reply. 'If Shirley and I fall into a river," he looks at her 'Whom will you rescue first?," Aiden snaps at him, her eyes squinted under the knitted brows 'No one, I can't swim" she leers her upper lip curled. 'Just answer my question," 'Obviously it will be...," Riley moves a little towards her, his eyes forgets to blink, hundred percent attention on her, eagerness written on his face 'Shirley," He looks away, his brows dragged down, he licks his lower lip and gawps down at his legs. 'You'll let me die then," he blurts low. 'Hey, he is just a kid," 'Love rival has no age boundary" he mumbles. 'You're gibberish," 'Yes, I am," he sees her 'You didn't enjoy today right?" he asks expecting her to convince him telling him today was great and enjoyable. 'Yeah," Heartbroken! His mild minor heart breaks again. Riley fixes his eyes on her, expressionless, his eyes dull and gloomy. 'Teasing you is fun," She smiles, in a fraction of second she mashes her lips on his warm soft lips, they part slightly allowing her tongue to slip in. Not gentle nor rough the pace is smooth. She places her palm on his broad shoulders and pushes him behind, without breaking the contact he lays flat on the sofa, their bodies press together heatedly, she pulls back breathing heavily, her forehead on his, her eyes gaping down at him. 'Are you convinced Riley Mintz?," her voice comes out low and husky. 'Ye..," She captures his lips again before he could pronounce the word ‘s'. She takes the dominance as she sucks on his upper lip, her hands holding his head in place, his hands around her. The sound of water drops landing on the floor echoes in the silent house. The surrounding brightens when Riley slides the curtains, he spins around and his actions stop when his gaze falls on the decorated wall of banners which he failed to clean. The sight of it reminds him of that day, Kim's dead body crystal clear in his mind, he was indeed astonished at the bloodied sight, his body laid in an uncomfortable position with his eyes wide open, shivers ran down his spine when two men carries the motionless body mercilessly... Just a glance at the body conveys his death that he hadn't died with a single bullet. He cannot imagine Aiden being brutal even though that Kim is a murderer, In fact Kim's death is nothing compared to what she had done before... 'Riley," Aiden calls out stepping out from the washroom, he stands still unmovable staring at wall his mind recalling the incident which he endured for the first time... 'Riley," her voice comes louder this time which brings him out f his thoughts 'Didn't you hear the bell?" she asks and walks to the door. She grips the door knob and looks over her shoulder as she pulls the handle down and opens the door. She turns when Riley stands behind her. 'Hi," Evan waves passing a smile. 'Come in," Aiden steps aside and gestures him to enter. 'Sorry I got to go, I came to give the phone," he hands over the phone to Aiden and looks at Riley 'I tried my best in one sleepless night," 'Thanks dude," Riley steps forward 'Ill treat you next time," he promises. 'Sure thing," Evan chuckles 'You know ' he moves closer to Riley 'You are viral online," he says and leaves. Taking his phone Riley walks to the couch, he lets out a loud sigh and sits beside Aiden. 'My gosh?," He covers his mouth, his eyes widens in surprise. The notification shows up, the picture of him in the amusement park. Aiden looks at him with creased brows, she peeps at his phone and snatches it from his grip. Clicking on the notification, she reads the article, the large highlighted image on the screen is his crying face in the roller coaster, his fake cry turned out to be real. 'Why are they still posting about you?," she asks throwing the phone to his lap. 'It's because I was popular," he sways his hair and lifts his chin high in the air. Aiden switches on Kim's phone and looks at him again 'Were you popular?," she asks. 'Of course," he answers in an instant. 'I thought you were unpopular," 'Unpopular?," he repeats aloud 'Telling that I'm unpopular is similar to claiming an elephant is an ant," Aiden stares at him in silence, her lips slightly apart and her eyes fixed on him while her mind repeats his statement... Claiming an elephant to an ant? This is something novelty... Something no one has heard... 'So, you were popular?," 'Seriously," he exhales as his head drops, a loud sigh leaves his lips 'Only you have that doubt!," he utters in a low voice and faces her. 'I see," she stays quiet for a while as they look at each other 'Weren't you really unpopular?," she questions puzzled, unconvinced with his explanation. She had no idea who Riley Mintz is before they ran into each other. Riley opens his mouth wide and purses his lips flat, he forces a smile and inhales a deep breath in, he closes his eyes for a couple of seconds and opens it 'As long as you are okay with me being unpopular," he sighs and looks away 'The phone is on," he says diverting the topic. They scroll through the phone, the call history is only of that day and the messages are empty, only three saved contacts available, one of it is Tira and the remaining are just numbers. They pass a glance at each other when they see one specific number called three times that day. Without a second thought Aiden rings to that number and places the phone on the short table... The receiver will surely think that it's Kim as his death is still unrevealed... The ring reverberates in the room along with the noise of their impatient feet tapping on the floor. No answer! 'Try again," Riley insists. Ring! Ring! Ring! Aiden tries numerous times but no one answers the call. She tries again, their anticipation makes them to lean forward and finally someone answers the call. 'Hello," comes the voice from the other side. Riley immediately looks at Aiden, her eyes widened in horror, the familiar voice which can be found with just one word. 'Kim, where the fuck are you?," 'Chloe," his name leaves her lips without her realization, she gulps down the lump in her throat and forms her hands to fists staring at screen, only silence delivered. Slam! Riley and Aiden stands when the door slams open. Three officers barge in 'Attorney Riley Mintz, you are under arrest"