Ineffable Plan

*Knock. Knock.*
*Knock. Knock.*
*Knock. Knock.*
*Knock. Knock.*

Who the hell is that? I peeked out from under the layers of blankets on the hospital bed to look at the alarm clock on the night stand. 1:00. I groaned, untangled myself from the sheets, and rolled off the bed.

“Coming!” I mumbled as I walked towards the door.

“Ow! Shit!” I yelled as I walked into a wall.

“You okay in there?” I heard a familiar voice ask as I flicked the light switch. I finally got to the door and peaked through the peephole. It was Aaron.

“I’m fine. I just walked into a wall, that’s all,” I said as he walked in. “What are you doing here?”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“What?” I asked confused.

“I went to your suite to see you and your roommates told me you were in a hotel. They told me about what happened with Mary. Why didn’t you call me?”

“Oh, that. I don’t know. I didn’t think to call you.”

“I told you she was dangerous! I told you not to hang around her! I told you to get your room assignment changes! Did you listen? No. Why didn’t you lock your bedroom door when you went to sleep? What the hell were you thinking? She could have killed you!”

“Calm down, Aaron. I’m fine,” I said softly. “Besides, you never said any of that stuff to me. What are you talking about?”

“I told you that yest…” He stopped mid-sentence. After a moment of thought he spoke again. “I’ve been meaning to tell you that. I knew something was wrong with that girl.”

“Whatever. I’m fine. See. Not a scratch.”

He smiled a little and sat down next to me. “Get packed.”

“What?”

“Pack your stuff. You’re staying with me.” He turned to face me. “Please?”

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm. I’m not letting you stay in some hotel and you’re definitely not going back to your place. Besides, I want you to and I need to talk to you. Not to mention, I can keep you safe there.”

“Fine. Fine.” I got up and started to pack. “Thanks.”

Less than an hour later we arrived at Aaron’s.

“Come on,” he said tugging me towards the elevator of the very fancy (and probably ridiculously expensive) apartment building.

“Why don’t you live on campus like a normal human being?”

He laughed. “Because I don’t have to. If you had a choice between living in the shitty college residence and living in a nice apartment, which would you chose?”

I shrugged.

“Exactly. Besides, my parents own the building.”

I nodded. “Of course they do.”

A few more seconds passed in silence. I watch the elevator numbers light up as we passed each floor.

“What are you thinking?” Aaron asked turning to look at me. He had this bewildered expression on his face.

“Nothing.”

“That’s what I thought,” he mumbled quietly.

The elevators opened up and we stepped out into a short hallway. There was only one door.

“Penthouse?”

He nodded and smiled.

“Oh. I should probably mention that I live with my two brothers.”

“You have brothers?”

“I told you there was a lot about me you didn’t know.”

As we walked into the apartment I couldn’t help but gasp. It was a huge two floor loft. On the first floor there was a large living room and kitchen, a game room equipped with a pool table, big screen TV, and many video game systems, a large bathroom and two bedrooms (one belonging to Aaron’s brother, Emmanuel). In the game room there was a sliding glass door leading to an outdoor pool and a Jacuzzi set on a large terrace. There was a cage like lift that took you to the second floor which had three more bedrooms (one being Aarons and another was his other brother’s, Julian), two bathrooms and a laundry room.

“Aaron, this place is freaking huge!” I muttered as we sat on his bed after the ‘tour’ of the apartment.

“I guess,” he answered smirking. “You like it?”

“Love it.”

He smiled brightly and then threw an arm around my shoulder. “Good. Let me take you to your room. You should get unpacked.”

As we walked into the hallway we bumped into a guy that was obviously Aaron’s brother. The resemblance was hard to ignore.

“Hey, Julian,” Aaron greeted him.

“Who’s your friend? Is this thee Justice Winters?”

“Yea. Julian, Justice. Jus, this is my older brother Julian.” Aaron introduced us.

“Hey,” I said weakly looking up at him. For a moment he just stared back at me blankly. I was getting a little nervous and before I knew it was a blushing. Just fantastic!

Julian laughed and looked over at Aaron. “You were right.”

I knitted my eyebrows.

“She is very beautiful,” he said before walking away towards his room. Aaron and I continued down the hall and walked into one of the spare bedrooms.

“Here we are.” He plopped down onto the bed. “You need help unpacking?”

I laughed. “I’ve got like one small bag of clothes. It’s not really a two person job.”

“If you want, I can go to the suite tomorrow and get the rest of your stuff. You’re staying here for the rest of the term, you know?”

I stopped what I was doing and turned to look at him. “Am I?” I asked, eyebrows raised.

He nodded.

“Says who?”

He smiled and pointed to himself. “My brothers and I have already discussed this and we think it’s what’s best.”

“I appreciate the offer, Aaron, but did you ever think of asking me?”

His smile widened. “Nope.”

I rolled my eyes and went back to unpacking. I shoved my clothes into the draws with unnecessary force.

“Are you upset with me?” he whispered softly in my ear, suddenly behind me. I gasped.

“No,” I answered still concentrating intensely on folding and putting away my clothes.

“Yes, you are,” he whispered forcefully.

I just shrugged.

“I’m sorry. I should have asked you.” Aaron took hold of my hand before I could get started on another article of clothing. “Stay, please.”

I looked up at him. His eyes were pleading. I smiled slightly. “I was going to stay anyway, even though you’re a completely buttmunch.”

He didn’t laugh like I expected him to. Instead his hands left mine and moved up my arms and rested on both sides of my face. I watched, frozen, as he leaned in closer until his lips were pressed firmly against my own. His eyes closed as our lips touched and I felt mine flutter shut after. Moments later he pulled away and his hands dropped down to his sides.

“I better let you get settled in. I promise I’ll tell you everything tomorrow when all my brothers are here. Goodnight, Justice,” he said before leaving the room.

I was still sitting on the floor in front of the wardrobe. For a moment I couldn’t even think. When my head finally cleared, I smiled. Aaron had just kissed me.