One Wild Night

Candace watched Aaron with a smile as he ate the meal she had prepared while Jamal entertained them as usual, asking Aaron questions while telling Aaron more about himself.

As Aaron laughed at something Jamal said, he began to choke, and immediately Candace went to stand beside him and patted his back to calm him.

“Thank you. I’m okay now,” Aaron said with a smile of gratitude, and Candace moved away from him with the dishes.

“Your aunt Andy seems like a fun person,” Aaron said, and Jamal bobbed his head.

“She is. All my classmates love her. When she comes back, I will bring her to you,” Jamal promised.

“Please do. It’s good to know I have two daughters,” Aaron said, and Candace smiled as she returned to join them.

“Have I told you that I’m leaving the hospital today?” Aaron asked, and Candace looked at him with concern.

“You are going home already? Are you sure that is the right thing to do? Did the doctors approve it?” Candace asked, and Aaron looked at her.

“Yes, the doctor did. A nurse will be going with us. I will be more comfortable at home and get well faster. I was hoping you would both come with us,” Aaron said, and Candace’s brows pulled together as she looked into his amber-colored eyes.

Come with them, as in move in with them or just go with them to know Harry’s place? Candace mused. As much as she had accepted them as her family, she wasn’t sure moving in with them so quickly was a good idea.

“You don’t have to move in with us yet if you don’t want to. I just thought it would be nice to have you close, so we can all get to know each other. You don’t have to feel pressured by my request. You can take your time,” Aaron rushed to assure her when he sensed her hesitation.

Surprisingly, Jamal said nothing and just looked at his mother as he waited for her to say something.

“I don’t feel pressured. We will go with you today and get to know where you live,” Candace said, and Aaron smiled at her.

“That’s fine,” he said and smiled at Jamal when he held his hand.

They all turned to the door when it opened, and Harry returned with Tom, “Why can’t I find my food? Don’t tell me you ate it?” Harry asked Jamal with a suspicious look in his eyes as he tickled him and Jamal laughed.

“Mommy packed it,” Jamal squealed.

“Oh, I see. I guess I will have it when I get home,” Harry said as he let go of Jamal and looked at Candace.

“Can I speak with you for a moment?” He asked, and Candace gave him a nod as she followed him outside.

“I’m taking him home. I understand that it is probably too soon to ask you to move in with us, but I want you to know that whenever you’re ready, the door is open,” Harry said, and Candace smiled.

“Thanks. I will bear that in mind.”

“I also wanted to ask you not to tell him how hard your life was before now,” Harry pleaded, and Candace looked at him, but before she could speak, he continued.

“I’m not saying this because he would feel embarrassed. You saw how he is. It would break him, and he is going to blame himself for it….”

“But he will eventually find out about it. One way or the other, he will know,” Candace pointed out, and Harry sighed.

“I know that. But it doesn’t have to be right now, does it? I would rather he recovers and bounces back….”

“And then he would break down again when he hears of it then. Do you realize that you are trying to do the same thing he did to you?” Candace asked softly.

“You are trying to protect him from being hurt by keeping the truth from him the same way he kept the truth from you. You want me to make him believe my life was rosy until now? I don’t have a problem doing that. But what about you? From all I’ve heard about you until now, you’re not that sort of person,” Candace said, and Harry sighed.

She was right. He was trying to do the same thing his father had done. Hiding the truth to keep him from being hurt or blaming himself.

“Don’t worry about it. I won’t make him feel like my life has been all that terrible. I will tell him what he needs to know, both the good and bad, but I will keep it light and easy,” Candace promised as she touched Harry’s arm.

“I may have only met him yesterday, but I care about him too. So don’t worry too much,” Candace said, and Harry nodded.

He needed to remind himself that Candace was also Aaron’s daughter, “I’m sorry,” Harry said, and Candace smiled.

“There is nothing to be sorry about,” Candace assured him as they both returned to the room.

Once they walked in, Harry looked at his father, “Are you ready to go home?” Harry asked, and Aaron gave him a nod.

“Let’s go home,” Harry said, and some moments later, they all were standing beside Harry’s car in the parking lot.

“I will drive behind you,” Tom told Harry after Aaron had settled in, expecting that Harry and the others would go together, but Jamal grabbed his hand before he could leave.

“I will come with you,” Jamal said as he looked up at him, and they all looked at the kid.

“Why? Shouldn’t you go with your uncle?” Tom asked with a mock scowl.

“You will be alone,” Jamal explained, and Candace smiled while the others looked at Jamal speechlessly. They just couldn’t get used to his thoughtfulness.

“Can he go with you?” Candace asked politely, even if she knew Tom wouldn’t mind taking him.

“Sure. Let’s go,” Tom said as he took Jamal’s hand and led him to his car.

Once he had ensured that Jamal was properly seated in the passenger seat with the seatbelt strapped, he got into his car and followed Harry’s car.

Without Jamal in the car, the car was silent, with Harry driving, Candace in the front passenger seat, and Aaron in the back seat.

“Do you like law school?” Harry asked after some time when the silence in the car had dragged on for too long.

“Sure, I do. Although it’s demanding, but I do my best. I look forward to graduation,” Candace said, and Aaron nodded in approval.

“I just realized I didn’t ask about your job. How have you been coping financially?” Aaron said curiously, and Candace exchanged a look with Harry.

Candace smiled as she turned in her seat to look at Aaron, “I did whatever I could to get by. I’ve done a lot of jobs. You would cringe when I tell you about some of them,” she said with an easy laugh, and Aaron smiled sadly.

“Harry told me how you ended up at the orphanage,” Aaron said, and Candace smiled.

“Don’t worry. I will tell you all you need to know gradually. There is no need for us to rush into it,” Candace assured him.

“You have to go back to school, don’t you? And Jamal, too,” Aaron reminded her.

“Yes, we do. When we left, I wasn’t sure how long we would be hiding this time…” she let the rest of her words trail off as she winced.

“I told you about Jero, remember? Jamal’s dad. We were hiding from him and his dangerous friends,” she explained, and Aaron nodded.

He remembered her telling him Jamal’s father died that morning and that she would have killed him herself if she could.

“You didn’t tell me about the case,” Aaron reminded her.

“Harry can tell you about it. He helped Jade,” Candace said, drawing Harry into the conversation since he had been quiet for a while.

“Harry, you did?” Aaron asked, and Harry nodded.

“Yes. Jade’s life was being threatened, so I had to go be with her for some time while she worked on the case,” Harry explained.

“I see. It must have been pretty dangerous,” Aaron said thoughtfully.

“Yes, it was,” Harry agreed, and Aaron sighed as he looked at Candace.

“Well, you don’t have to hide from them anymore, do you? Besides, you have us now. We will keep both of you safe,” Aaron assured her, and Candace smiled.

“Isn’t it amazing that you’ve been friends with your brother’s girlfriend this whole time?” Aaron asked after some time, and Candace looked at Harry curiously.

“You are dating Jade? Since when?” Candace asked curiously, wondering if Jade had confessed her feelings to Harry the other night, especially since she had mentioned something about a kiss.

“We are not dating. At least not yet,” Harry explained, and Candace looked at him in confusion.

“Didn’t you invite that Aurora girl to be your date?” Candace asked, and Harry turned to spare her a glance.

“Jade told you about Aurora?” Harry asked with a slightly raised brow. It seemed like Jade had told everyone about them already.

“I was there when Aurora gave her your message and told her about the date,” Candace said, and this time Harry grinned.𝐎𝚟𝑙xt.𝗇𝓔t

“Really? How did Jade react to it?” Harry asked, and Aaron smiled as he closed his eyes while he listened to them in amusement. They sounded just like siblings at that moment.

Candace pursed her lips as she wondered whose side to be on. Jade or Harry?

Although Harry was her twin brother, she had known Jade the longest, and Jade had been a good friend to her. Maybe it was best to be neutral.

“She didn’t exactly look happy about it,” Candace said, and Harry’s grin widened.

“What did she say?” Harry asked curiously.

“Now, why would I tell you that?” Candace asked in amusement.

“Because you’re my kid sister, remember?”Harry asked, and Candace giggled.

“If you are so curious, then ask Jade yourself. You seem to like her too, so why did you invite Aurora to be your date in the first place?” Candace asked, and Harry sighed.

“I wouldn’t have done that if she didn’t like playing games so much,” Harry said, and Candace shook her head.

“So what are you going to do about Aurora? She promised to make Jade her maid of honor if things work out between you both,” Candace said, and Harry turned to look at her in alarm, making Candace giggle.

“Maid of honor?” Harry asked, and Aaron laughed when he heard the horror in Harry’s tone.

“That’s what you get for pulling a stunt like that. If you are not interested in her, you should make it clear so that no one gets hurt,” Aaron advised without opening his eyes, and Harry sighed.

“Yeah. I intend to.”

“By the way, what about Matt? Have you made up with him yet?” Harry asked when he remembered that Matt was involved with her.

Aaron’s eyes opened, “Who is Matt?” He asked, and Candace eyed Harry with displeasure for bringing Matt up.

“A friend,” Candace said simply.

“You both fought?” He asked curiously.

“No, we didn’t,” Candace said and gave Harry a pointed look, not to say anything else.

Aaron could tell from her tone that there was more to it than she was willing to share, but he decided not to probe further. There was more than enough time to get to know her better and learn about everyone in her life.

Matt. He was certain Jamal would have something to tell him about this Matt person if he was important to Candace, Aaron thought with a chuckle.

“What’s amusing you, dad?” Harry asked curiously as he looked at his father through the rearview mirror.

“I was just thinking of Jamal,” Aaron said, making both Harry and Candace smile. They didn’t need to know what he was thinking about the kid. The mere mention of his name was enough to make them smile.