Run, Girl (If You Can)

Aaron noticed Keeley looked a little wan when he picked her up from the bus station. It looked like she had fun based on her Instagram pictures but now he wondered if she had a little too much fun.

"How was your trip?"

"It was good spending time with those guys," she said with a yawn. "I'm not ready for school to start tomorrow."

"Did you get any sleep at all this weekend?" he asked worriedly.

Upon closer inspection, she really didn't look good. Especially the bags under her eyes.

She let out a single 'ha' instead of her usual laugh. "Not really."

"Let's get you home then."

She went quiet and he thought maybe she fell asleep but she was simply staring out the window. He frowned. Was she really okay?

Aaron carried her suitcase up for her when they got back to the apartment building. He placed it in her room and came downstairs to find her with her face buried in her cat's fur. Maybe she just missed Molly.

He had to admit it stung a little that she missed the cat more than she missed him. She hadn't texted him once all weekend. He was at least partly to blame for that; he hadn't texted her either because he wanted her to enjoy her time with her friends before school started again and she would be stressed all the time.

But that sort of proved his point even more. She probably hadn't thought of him at all while she was gone. If he had texted her, she probably would have replied out of habit.

"Are you hungry? I have some leftover Chinese food in the fridge."

"That would be great, thanks," Keeley said faintly.

Aaron heated it up for her and brought it to where she was sitting on the couch. She picked at it listlessly.

"You might want to go straight to bed after this."

"I feel gross, I was on a bus for four hours," she refuted. "I'll shower first then go to bed."

In the end she managed to finish her plate of leftovers even though it took her a while and he whisked it away to take it to the dishwasher before she got a chance. Putting it away herself was a meaningless distraction that would prevent her from sleeping.

"Good night!" he called up the stairs behind her as she trudged slowly upward. He heard a soft "good night" in response.

Aaron debated whether or not to check on her about an hour later to see if she was actually asleep or not. Eventually he chose to go for it and opened the door a crack. She was out like a light and both cats were curled up near her as if comforting her.

He quietly shut the door behind him as he went back downstairs. It was still pretty early. What had worn her out so much?

===

Alistair barged into Aaron's office without knocking, like he usually did on the rare occasions he bothered to make an appearance. He drew himself up to his full height and demanded Aaron be present at the birthday party he and Roslyn were throwing for him on Saturday.

"My birthday is on Monday," he said flatly. "You can't even remember your only child's birthday?"

Aaron didn't care; he simply enjoyed giving the man a hard time. He had no intention of going to that party.

"Don't be impertinent! People are busy on Monday nights. Saturday is easier for everyone."

He glanced at his father from over the top of the document stack he was examining. "When you say 'everyone' you mean to include people I don't like, such as Lacy Knighton, correct?"

His father began blustering. "She's a daughter of a very old and important business partner of mine; of course she has to be there."

Whose party was it, his or Alistair's? It had always been like this in his family. He never got to choose anything for himself. Everything was yet another occasion for his parents to use him.

"Then I'm not going. Have fun throwing a birthday party without the guest of honor."

The temperature in the room dropped about forty degrees as two ice storms faced off. Neither was willing to back down. If anyone else had been in the room at that moment, they would have frozen solid.

"Why do you have to be like this? You're already engaged to someone else. You don't have to worry about Lacy anymore."

When Aaron spoke there were daggers in his voice piercing through Alistair's flesh. "That's exactly why she doesn't need to be there. I'm engaged. It's inappropriate to have another woman who is interested in me present while my fiancée is not."

He couldn't deny that logic but wasn't willing to concede. "She won't be there as your former fiancée candidate, she'll be there as my business partner's daughter."

"And I won't be there at all. You choose, Father. Who's more important to you, Lacy Knighton or me?"

He was sick of this game. He knew Lacy and Graydon Meyer were planning something against him. They would likely put it into effect at this party since he never showed his face at the circle's events anymore. Why would he willingly walk into a trap?

"May I remind you, I am your father," Alistair said icily.

"May I remind you, I am a grown adult. I have said it before and I will say it again: wherever that woman is, I will never be."

His father looked ready to hit him. Let him try. Nothing he did to Aaron now could compare to what he had already done. He was sick of it.

How much better would his life have been if he had been raised by a father like Robert Hall?  Someone kind, warm, and supportive. Robert would never try to control his children like chess pieces.

"You be there on Saturday or—or—!"

"Or what," Aaron said boredly. "You have nothing to threaten me with."

The temperature in the room dropped even further. Alistair the Ice Volcano was on the verge of a devastating explosion. It was because he knew his son was right.

Aaron was the second largest shareholder and the contract they had signed was legally binding so he couldn't take them back. He couldn't demote his son either because the board would throw a fit due to the series of successful proposals he had been pitching.

Alistair couldn't do a thing. And it was beautiful.