Chapter 13

I could not concentrate much on work even with James around to crack the lamest jokes. After some time, he approached me with a grim expression.

"Is everything okay, Haven?", he asked. "You seem to be a little off today."

"Yes, James. I am fine. Just a little tired.", I said, letting out a sigh.

He gave me a side hug and rubbed my shoulder as a sign of comfort. The little things he does and says usually leave an impact on me. I decided to tell him about Anna and my decision to tell her everything.

"James.", I said, "I need your advice about something."

He looked at me slightly surprised as I usually do not do this. James knew me and saw me as an independent woman. So, seeing me in confusion and desperate for advice could have perplexed him.

"Of course, Haven. What do you need?", he said, frowning. "Let's go to Blossombee after our shift and you tell me everything there?"

I nodded and continued with my work while he gave me one last glance before going back to his shift.

It felt like ages while I was doing my shift and waiting for the time to pass so that I could tell James what had been happening. I formulated the right words and sequence to narrate the situation to give him a better picture.

.

.

.

"Now, tell me what's up with you.", he said, putting his bag on the side chair as we reached Blossombee.

I swallowed a weird lump in my throat before speaking. I told him everything from the beginning from finding Anna with bruises all over to finding her at the club, the phone call, and my decision to tell her everything.

James seemed to be in a deep thought before speaking.

"You sure that Aiden will be okay with you telling her.", he asked me, scrutinizing my expressions expecting a positive response.

"Uhm", I sluttered, "I am not sure. I don't think so."

I had to be honest with him if I was expecting an appropriate answer from him.

He let out a sigh and continued.

"Do you think it is wise to do something that you doubt Aiden would approve of?"

Before I could answer, I took a long pause which was filled by James again.

"Do you think not telling Anna can jeopardize your friendship?", he asked again.

I nodded.

"Then I think you should tell her ", James said. "See, Haven. If I am sure about one thing about you that is how much Anna means to you. So, do not throw that away. I would not want you to get on Aiden's bad side. But according to what you tell me, he does not seem like a bad person to you. And if you outweigh the options, I think mending things with Anna seems more important now."

I nodded again.

"Then I am going to tell her.", I decided out loud. "Thank you, Jamie. For everything."

I gave him a long hug while he rubbed my back and rested his chin on his shoulder. We stayed like that for some time until we heard someone clear their throat.

That subtle grunt was easily recognizable. It was Aiden.

I did not know how I did it. Maybe his radiating presence can be identified by me from anywhere.

Probably, it was a good thing.

"Aiden.", I said. "What you doing here?"

I glanced at my watch to check the time, realizing that it was past my shift. So he had probably come to pick me up and figured I would be in Blossombee if not at work.

"Give me a minute, I will be there.", I said, looking at James while he sat there with an awkward expression.

Aiden nodded and stepped out of Blossombee to wait near his car.

"Thank you once again for everything, James.", I said. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Of course, Buttercup.", he said, smiling.

I gave him one last wave and made my way out of the door to see Aiden by the car, with his arms folded and his side shoulder resting against the car. It was a sight to sore eyes. 

I walked up to him, grabbing his attention as he opened the car door for me.  

"Why thank you, gentleman?", I said, flashing a genuine smile. He grinned back and got into the driver's seat.

"You know you can call me immediately after the shift. You don't have to wait for me in that cafe until I come. ", he said, as I scrolled through my mobile. 

"It is fine, Aiden. I just wanted to spend a little time with James.", I said, looking back at him.

He put on a grim expression and stayed silent for almost the rest of the ride.

"So, how was your day at work?", I asked him, only to receive a weird expression from him. 

"Work was work.", he said.

"What does that mean?", I asked, agitating with his empty answer.

"Nothing special about it, Haven. Work was okay.", he said. 

When he said that, I decided to ask him about what he does. 

"So, what do you exactly do? Like for work.", I asked him, preparing myself not to react too much when he would say something illegal or barbarous. 

"I don't think you would want to know, Haven.", he said, looking straight at the road.

I did not dare to push it. So, we went back to silently waiting to reach his place. 

We reached his place shortly after that and I approached Martha to greet her. 

"Hey, Martha!", I said, giving her a hug which completely caught her off guard. After a few seconds, she reciprocated back. 

Martha had been a mother figure to me since the past few days and I started to see her as someone I could rely on.  

I looked behind to see Aiden looking at us with a faint glint of interest. He turned back to grab his keys again before heading out to work again.

"See you soon.", I said, waving at him.