Sometimes I wonder why I don't just leave Mystic Falls.
Aaron frowned when Noah talked about Jeremyās case. āWait, you mean itās not solved? I thought.. I thought it was a closed case, actually,ā he admitted. He didnāt comment on what he said about the woods, knowing that if he did theyād probably start talking about the last full moon, and Aaron really wasnāt in the mood for that. He felt Noah tense up when he talked about drugsā the reaction he had expected, but still he was caught of guard when Noah sat up. āNo, Noah, itās okay, Iām fine,ā he said, reassuring him. He was still lightly stroking his arm, though now it was more a comforting gesture rather than an effective one. When Noah kept looking at him as if he required an explanation, Aaron decided itād be best to give him a short version of his story, because he didnāt want to keep things from him. āWhat happened is.. When I grew up, I didnāt really have the best.. family. So I was always trying to stay out late, I fell into the wrong crowd, and.. You know. We did things that I wish I hadnāt, like drugs, or stealingā Iām sure you know the group, always hanging out at the graveyard, acting tough. I usually stayed in the background, but.. I was part of it. Though I swear, Iāve left that all behind, Iām not that person anymore. I swear,ā he said. He knew this could change Noahās view on Aaron forever, and all he could hope was that he wasnāt going to look at him with those eyes that he knew all too well by now, the judging eyes that heād experienced a lot from strangers in town when he was younger. Not that he could blame them; but still.. If Noah would think that way about him, it would hurt.Ā A lot.ā
āIt should be, but it really isnāt, at all. All those people werenāt, itāsā¦ complicated. But we canāt make sense of the circumstances and the killer. The victims donāt have many connections or coincidences between them, but we know theyāre dying by the same hands.ā Noahās eyes stung if he dwelled too much on it, but he was dry of tears anyway, and Aaron deserved to know. Even though he was hiding things himself. No, the officer shook his head, not wanting to go there right now ā or ever again. Listening to Aaronās story, he fisted the covers tightly and his sore body and mind just kept repeating how sorry he was. Thatās what he felt, so incredibly sorry this incredible guy heād come to love had such a dark past, that his familyās influence ā lack of, that is ā had made him do things Noah despised and never thought of doing. Aaronās younger, troubled version could be one of those punks he was so irritated in dealing with, so disappointed to see wasting their lives away. Truth was that too sleepy to be torn about anything, he was only sorry. But Noah couldnāt form that word properly now, so his arms circled Aaron as tenderly as his desperation allowed and stayed put, wanting to protect the boy from ever following that path again. āThatās okay. I know youāre not.ā
