Art By Adonis - 15. Chapter 15

“Hey, it’s me. Can I come in?” Aidan asked after he knocked on the door. Once he had Jenny’s permission, he opened it and entered.

She lay halfway on the bed with a book in her hand. When she saw Aidan, she smiled and quickly sat up. Placing the bookmark on the opened page, Jenny closed the book and placed it on the nightstand. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Just checking in on you,” he replied as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Jenny smiled. “I’m so much better, Aidan. Will you stop worrying about me so much?”

He grinned and shrugged. “I guess I’m kind of a worrier. Have absolutely no idea when I turned into my mom.” That made Jenny giggle, and he loved that sound coming out of her mouth.

Aidan looked at her. She looked well, now that a few days had passed since the incident. Her otherwise flawless skin had started to get its color back. The bruises on her body faded away, and the wounds healed slowly. She stopped taking any more medicines for her pain which was a really good sign.

However, Rick worried himself about what was going on in her mind. He’d told Aidan that she was unusually quiet which was out of character for her. Rick had always told him his sister was a lively person who simply loved to talk. While at his house, Aidan had hardly seen her coming out of her room except for daily meals with them.

Rick was dejected that he couldn’t get through the wall she’d built up between them. The more he tried to get her to open up, the more she drifted and confined herself within the four walls of their guest room. Aidan hated to see Rick suffer like that so, he offered to help.

“But how are you really doing, Jenny?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Did Rick put you up to this?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No, nobody put me up to this. I’m just…I hardly know you because we’ve barely had any real conversations. So, I might be crossing a line when I ask. But it’s not just me who’s worried about you. Rick is too. He can see that you’re hurting. And it’s like, you keep pushing him away when all he wants to do is help you. That affects him too, and I can’t see him like that.”

Jenny sighed. She crossed her legs and gazed at Aidan with sad eyes. “You’re a good man, Aidan. Rick used to talk about you all the time before he moved in with you and I knew you treated him well. But now I know for sure that he is in good hands.”

Aidan couldn’t help but blush. “Thanks, I guess.”

She smiled uncertainly and looked down at her hands. Fidgeting with her fingers, she spoke after a whole minute passed. “I haven’t been able to talk to Rick or you, for that matter because I’m embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed? Why embarrassed?”

“Because…” she said, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. “It was all my fault.”

“No,” he said and scooted closer to her. He reached out and stroked her upper arm as she cried. “None of this is your fault, Jenny.”

“Well, it is.” She sniffed. “I’m the one who married Vik even though I knew what kind of guy he was. But damn, I was so young when we married. I was stupid and reckless. He proposed, and I fell for him. I kept ignoring his flaws as if they didn’t matter. But when I…” She bit her lip to stop herself from crying, but a sob broke out anyway.

When she managed to recover herself, she continued. “I miscarried twice because of his beatings. That’s when I saw him for the monster he was. I’d fallen out of love and sought help from people around me. Divorce was the only option left. But I was broke. I’d started to save up to pay for a good lawyer. But then Rick came to live with us, and my husband wanted to throw him out. But he had nowhere to go. The only way to keep him at our place was for me to pay a rent amount on Rick’s behalf. I work as a nanny for three kids, and it doesn’t pay me extravagantly. I had to dig into my savings to take care of him too.”

“Did you ever tell that to Rick?” Aidan asked, already knowing the answer.

“How could I? He already felt like shit with Vik around.”

Aidan didn’t know what to say at that moment. He continued to soothe Jenny as she let out her tears. She and Rick cared very much for each other. She’d silently endured a lot of pain and sacrificed a great deal when it came to making some selfish choices. Jenny could have easily sent her brother back to Missouri and continued with her life. She had her own problems, after all. Jenny knew exactly how much harder her life would become and she still chose to go that path. Because, obviously, she loved Rick to pieces.

He handed her some more Kleenex as she wiped her new set of tears. “I can’t say that I know exactly how you feel. But Jenny, everyone makes stupid decisions at least once in their lives. I’ve made so many in my life that I’ve stopped keeping a count of them. So, there’s nothing for you to be embarrassed about.”

She nodded, and Aidan bent down as he searched in her eyes. When she looked up, he smiled sadly at her and said, “You know you made a bad decision. You fell and stood up. It’s hard, I know. But you gotta start walking now. Move on. Live your life. That’s how it’s supposed to be. That’s how…” He held her hand and pointed at her palm. “You will bump into that guy who’s going to make it all worth fighting for. I see it so clearly on here.”

She grinned through her tears and wiped them off with the back of her hand. “I didn’t know you were into palmistry.”

“Just one of the hobbies I’ve picked up. It’s our secret, okay? Don’t tell Rick.” He winked. Aidan had totally made it up, but from the looks of it, the trick had still worked its charm.

“Thanks, Aidan.” She sniffed. “I feel better now.”

“I’m glad to be of assistance, ma’am.” He took a little bow and grinned. “But I have a much better plan to help you.”

“What’s that?”

“We’re heading down to a gay club in WeHo, and you’re coming with us.”

“Yea, I dunno…”

He held his hand up. “I am not taking a no for an answer. You’re coming, and that’s final.” When she frowned at him, he said, “Please, Jenny, I’m in a mood to celebrate. My portraits of Rick have been accepted by one of the top art galleries in the city, and I’m excited. It’s a happy day for me and your brother. So, please, say yes. Please,” Aidan literally begged. He knew she wouldn’t say no to the puppy face he made.

“Erm…Aidan,” Aaron suddenly said from across the table. “I wanted to talk to you about that…thing I told you about.” His eyes shifted from Rick to Jenny and finally settled on his elder brother. When he’d called that evening to make some brother-bonding plans, Aidan invited him to join in as well.

“Sure, what’s up?” he asked, looking curious and confused at the same time.

“I mean, in private.” Aaron glanced at Jenny and Rick uncomfortably. “Sorry guys, I hope you understand.”

Rick waved dismissively and smiled. Aidan leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m sure this won’t take long,” he said, before following his brother out of the bar.

As soon as they stepped out on the street, Aaron swiveled around to face him and almost yelled, “What the hell were you thinking?”

Aidan quickly recalled the last conversation that they’d had in the bar and realized Aaron hadn’t spoken much ever since they got there. “Huh?” He failed to recollect what it could’ve been that had offended his brother.

“You called me to a gay bar? When you knew Rick’s hot sister is gonna be hanging with us?” He threw his hands in the air and huffed. “Now she probably thinks I’m gay!”

Laughter bubbled out of Aidan. Aaron had joined him at bars, gay or not, on multiple occasions without a damn care of what anyone else thought. So he hadn’t given it much thought when he had invited him that evening. What amused him was that his brother had a crush on Jenny and that it mattered to him what she thought.

“Stop laughing, dude. I’m serious, it’s embarrassing. The way she looks at me…I know she’s made up her mind that I’m into dudes. You ruined my chance with her.”

Aidan patted his brother’s back as he tried to control his laughter. “Oh, God, Aaron! You’re imagining it. I’m sure she isn’t judging you at all.” He chuckled. “I can’t believe you have a crush on Rick’s sister.”

“Can you blame me? She is so fucking hot! It should be a crime to be so fucking hot and still be available.” His grin faded in that moment. “Wait, she is available, right? Or am I jumping the gun here?”

He didn’t know how to answer that. “It’s complicated. I don’t want to get into details, but…she’s in the middle of a divorce. You may want to tread carefully here if you like her so much.”

“Oh, that’s tough.”

“In all honesty though, she’s super nice, and she deserves a better person than her ex.”

“Like me, maybe?” he asked eagerly.

Aidan chortled. “Yeah, yeah.” He rolled his eyes. “But even though we’re brothers, I wanna say this. If you hurt her, like ever, I’d hunt you down and kick your ass.” Aaron started laughing thinking his brother was kidding. A raise of his right brow set things straight, and Aidan watched his brother compose himself before nodding. “Anything that ultimately hurts my boyfriend will have to face me. And I don’t care who it is.”

“Chill, bro.”

“No, I’m saying this because those two in there have suffered enough and I’d hate it if my little brother were the reason to cause them more pain.”

“Okay,” Aaron said and pulled him into a hug. “Okay. I won’t do anything stupid. Don’t worry.”

Aidan sighed, and they both got back in. “Is everything okay?” Rick asked as they took their seats opposite him. He must have noticed the long faces and the changed mood in both of them.

“Oh, yeah.” Aidan smiled and looked at his brother to nod at him. “Everything’s cool. Just some work stuff that Aaron needed my opinion on.”

He cleared his throat and noticed the missing person next to Rick. “Where’s Jenny?”

“I’m here!” Jenny appeared from behind them and went around to get to her seat. “I had to use the ladies room. What did I miss?”

As the music grew louder, everyone welcomed a couple of Go-Go boys with an exciting cheer. The two took their positions by the pole and entertained their crowd for the rest of the night. The trio listened as Jenny narrated a story of one of her friends who had worked at a shady strip club once and got ripped off by the employer who never paid for six months.

Aaron didn’t miss an opportunity that evening to flirt with. He slipped in some cheesy jokes in the middle of their conversations, and she apparently found them funny too because she couldn’t stop laughing. Either that or the girl had mastered in fake laughing so much that it sounded genuine. Aidan doubted that was the case though.

As he observed her more closely, Aidan could see why Aaron was so smitten by Jenny. It was a surprise he hadn’t noticed it before, but Jenny and Rick had familiar features. Blonde hair, blue eyes, long lashes. Unlike Rick though, his sister looked sun-kissed and had a button nose. All in all, she looked like a model out of a fashion magazine with a slim waist and well-endowed breasts. Awfully good genes, he thought to himself with a smile, looking at his cute boyfriend and his hot sister.

“What’s that smile for?” Rick looked at him slightly confused.

Aidan looked back as the curious eyes were now all on him and he blushed. If only he knew what I was thinking. He chuckled. “Nothing, I just remembered a funny thing my client said today,” he lied.

“Care to share?” Jenny probed.

He shrugged. “Later, maybe.” Aidan turned to his brother and said, “Why don’t you ask Jenny for a dance? They’re playing some really good songs tonight.”

“Oh, yeah, Jenny? Would you care for a dance?”

Jenny was caught off-guard, and she stammered when she said, “Oh, I don’t know about that.”

Aaron stood up ready to hit the dance floor. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

She glanced at her brother sitting who gave a huge grin. “Go!” he said. “I know you love dancing to these beats and you’ve got an enthusiastic partner in Aaron. In fact,” Rick turned to Aidan and said, “Why don’t you go and join them as well?”

“Believe me, you do not want to see me dance.” Aidan laughed.

“Yeah, I’m with him on this one,” Aaron said with a straight face. “Aidan dances like a dad dancing at prom. It’s actually embarrassing.”

Jenny laughed out loud, and Aidan narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help imagining it,” she explained.

“Oh well…a man cannot be good at everything.” He pouted.

“Aww,” Rick said reaching for Aidan’s hand on the table. “I love you no matter what, you know that.” The wink that followed gave him goosebumps, and he smiled softly.

Aidan took hold of Rick’s hand and brought it up to his lips. “I love you too,” he said before kissing it tenderly.

“All the more reason now to go dancing, Jenny,” Aaron said grabbing their attention again. “We should leave them alone for a while.”

“You’re probably right.” Jenny ruffled her brother’s hair and followed Aaron to the dance floor.

Aidan and Rick ate the rest of their dinner in silence, enjoying each other’s company and occasionally checking up on the dancing couple on the floor. They seemed to be having a good time too. Aidan smiled as he saw Aaron leaning closer to Jenny’s ear, whispering something and whatever he said made her laugh too. It pleased him to see her happy like that. And it made him happier knowing that his brother was the reason behind it.

“Is it just me or is Aaron actually hitting on my sister?” Rick asked, looking amused.

Taking a bite, he said carefully, “I don’t know. Why? Does it bother you?”

“No, not at all. I just find it…weird, maybe? A little bit. But anyways, I know he’s a nice guy.”

Aidan took a sip of his beer and cleared his throat. “That’s actually what we talked about earlier when he pulled me away. He likes Jenny, that’s for sure.” He gave him an uncertain smile.

Rick nodded. “That’s sweet. But…with all that’s happened with her, I don’t know if she’s ready to start seeing other men. I don’t want him to end up hurt because my sister doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, you know?”

A chuckle forced itself out from Aidan, and he shook his head.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s funny how you are more worried about him getting hurt than her.”

“What’s so funny about that?”

“Because when we were talking,” Aidan said pointing back toward the door, “I actually threatened to kick his ass if he ever hurt Jenny.”

Rick laughed. “You did not!”

“Did too.”

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary, though. Aaron is a sweetheart.”

“So is your sister.” He gazed at the dance floor again and smiled. “But yeah, he is the best brother in the world. I cannot imagine my life without him.”

After a moment of watching the two, Rick finally broke the silence. “There’s no point worrying, I guess. They’re both old enough to make the right decisions.”

“I can’t agree more.”