_Chapter 27_

_Aiden’s POV_

Just when I thought nothing wrong would happen; it happens…

“What? You don’t say hello to the one who gave birth to you??” I snapped back to reality

“Hi mom…” I said

I hate her so much…but I have to be nice…

“So you decided to stay in America now, excellent; I already have your room rea-“

“I’m not moving in with you again mom, I made my choice; and I’m not changing it”

“Oh I see” she says and sits in the chairs from across the room and watches me like a hawk, “So then Eli has accepted you for who you are then?”

I just look away

“No?” I just stay silent, “So you’re still lying to him?” I gaze out the window, trying to tune her out.

But then I felt a hand smack my head, I knew who it was, just by the force “Listen to me and look at me when I’m talking you brat!”

I glare at her then stand up, we’re about the same height now so I just push her away “Is it really your business to be snooping in?” I questioned

“As of right now, Eli and everyone accepted me already;  give it a break” I muttered the last part

“Stupid as always Adrian…” I look at her just in time to do dodge the push she was about to give me

“Quit it” I say in a strained voice

“Lying to your only brother isn’t good, and to everyone else too” she tsk’ed me, then laughs

“I wonder what he’ll say when he sees who you are underneath”

“Stop mother…” I say, glaring

“Why? It’s the truth, whereas you; are a lie” I closed my eyes; her voice seemed to echo in my head.

“I don’t care; Eli wouldn’t care if it got that far…”

“Really? What if he makes you leave?”

“I have friends, loyal friends; here and Korea” when I opened my eyes I saw a smirk on her lips, she knows she’s winning.

“They could turn on you as well, see this is what I find humorous, you never think things through…”

“I have a loyal parent too, dad” she froze in place and glared at me, “I trust dad more than you, he understands me unlike you, he cares for me; unlike you” she was shaking, out of pure anger.

“Oh really?”

“Yes, and no matter what; he’ll always be my number on-”

“What about me?! I gave birth to you! I cared for you! I gave you everything!”

“No you didn’t” I said, even if she starts yelling; I will keep my voice calm “You forced me to do what you wanted me to do. I never got to pick my own path, I wanted to dance, sing, and be me”

I bit my lip softly “I tried to make you happy, but it wasn’t working for me; maybe it was excellent in your eyes, but in mine; it wasn’t me”

“You didn’t know what you wanted, even now you don’t know because you are a child!”

“I beg to differ; dad thinks I’m old enough to make my own decisions. I’m old enough to know what I want” I took a deep breath “And what I want, is to be by Eli’s side; and look nothing bad has happened has there?”

“Not for long you brat” I heard glass break and looked at my feet to find a broken cup, my heart stopped; I look up and dodged an oncoming cup and it hits the wall, I now realized that I was up against the wall now

“Why did I even give birth to you?” another glass thrown and it breaks against my leg, I hissed in pain; she threw another and it hit my shoulder,

“Why did I even try to help you? You’re worthless!” another thrown and I block it with my arm and it breaks, I can move anymore; I’m against the wall…

“You’re just a stupid GIRL Adrian!” she hit me over the head and I pushed her to the ground, I could feel the blood dripping down my arm, leg, shoulder, and my cheek, the glass pierced deeply into my skin.

I took a shaky breath and just ran out of the room and bumped into a body but kept going.

_Author’s POV_

Eli stood in the hall as he watched Aiden run, he couldn’t believe what he heard

“Stupid child, she knows nothing…” he heard his mother mutter, the sound of glass being picked up and thrown away was heard.

He walks to the door and knocks, he looks in and sees his mother dusting her hand off, when she looked up her angered expression softened and she went to hug him “Eli dear~!” he patted her back in response

‘You’re just a stupid GIRL Adrian’

That phrase kept ringing through his head.

Meanwhile JJ had parked and got everyone out, “Okay guys so when we head back we ha-” he stopped when he saw a limp figure run from the front doors and up the street

“Dude that’s Aiden!”

“How do you know?” Donghae asked Chad

“Please, anyone who has that color hair is Aiden, the style matches along with the shoes. Plus he never runs, and that my friend is Aiden trying to run. Come on” Chad and Donghae took off after Aiden while JJ grabbed Hyuk’s wrist and they ran into the hospital.

“Why is Aiden running?” Hyuk asks

“Only one thing, his mom came…” Hyuk was silent until they go to the room, JJ opened it and saw Aiden’s mom

“Oh my! Friends of Aiden’s, how are you?” JJ tapped Hyuk’s arm and made him back up

“What did you do to Aiden?”

“My, my I have no clue of what you are talking about” he looks around the room and notices that three of the five cups were missing.

“Uh-huh…” he mutters, soon Eunhyuk’s phone rings and he exits the room and answers.

JJ looks around the room “Dear what are you looking fo-”

“Cut the act miss K”

“Hey man, I don’t know who you are; but don’t talk to my mo-”

“Found it” JJ says, tipping the trash bin over and broken glass falls.

“Exhibit number one…broken glass in the trash bin…” he says looking around again

“Exhibit number two…blood stains beside and along this wall” he continued “Any objections miss K?”

“No clue”

“Sir” he addressed Eli “When did you get here?”

“About a few minutes ago…”

“When did you arrive miss K?”

“A good twenty minutes ago”

“Mister K?”

“What?”

“The time you left if you may”

“Thirty minutes ago…” JJ smirks

“Alright, Between the time you had left, and the time she arrived, that must have been a good fifteen minutes with our victim Aiden…and suspect Chloe. With the two clues I have discovered, Miss Chloe had physically hurt Mr. Aide-”

“JJ we have a serious problem” Hyuk says

“What is it? I’m in the middle of solving this puzzle…” JJ pouts

“Okay keep playing detective while Aiden bleeds on the streets” Hyuk said sarcastically before pulling JJ roughly out the room and to Aiden.

Eli looked at him mother “Umma…did you really hurt Aiden?”

The middle age woman just sits there.

“Let me down hyung!!” Aiden’s scream echoes throughout the alley

“Aiden you’re bleeding, stop moving!” Chad yells helping Donghae hold him down

“What happened to you??” Hae asks looking at his arm

“Aiden stop it right now!” Chad snapped, making both teen freeze; “Let me treat your arm and shoulder, and if you don’t; you can go deal with the doctors”

Aiden shook slightly but obeyed; Chad takes his back pack off and pulls out a small medical kit, “Now, what caused these deep wounds?”

“G-Glass…”

“What??” Hae asks as Chad started on Aiden’s shoulder, pulling out all the shards

“Mom threw the glass cups at me…”

“And you didn’t get out of the way?”

“I…I…” he whispers

“Shhh, appa’s here” Hae holds Aiden close as Chad worked on his arm and leg, success at pulling out all the shards

“Alright…it’s all out” Chad said moving to the latter’s arm “This may hurt”

Aiden nods and closes his eyes, his body tenses as Chad cleaned the wounds and placed bandages then wrapped the leg and Arm.

“Aiden!” Hyuk yelled hugging the other side of the said teen

“Hyuk…JJ” Aiden said looking at them

“Are you alright?” he asks

“Yeah…”

“Guys help him up” the Eunhae couple helps the teen up to walk

“Use them as support” Aiden sighed while walking with a limp.

“So your umma did this?” Hae asks and Aid nods

“She hates me, but I don’t care anymore…” he says, and the rest of the walk was silent.

Aiden’s POV

My body hurts…can’t believe she did that….

Why does she hate me so much now…before she’d never hurt me physically…

Did I make the wrong decision?

I sigh, I looked up to see the elevator doors open “I’m going ahead and get some food, I’ll see you in the room” JJ says turning away

“I’ll come too” Hyuk says, I lean on Hae and he holds me up, in the distances I hear Eli’s voice along with Kevin and Dongho. I tense up.

“Hae hyung…”

“It’ll be okay, I have you” he tells me and Chad opens the door,

“Where’s Aiden” I heard dad ask, Hae looks at me and I nod.

He helps me walk into the room and I hear Kevin gasp, “Aiden…” I looked up to see all eyes except moms on me

“What happened?” Dongho asked me, coming to my side and holds my bandaged arm, I glare towards mom

“I’m not lying for your sake anymore….” I said directly to her “Mother threw the glass cups at me, full force”

Eli looked at mom in disbelief, “Umma?”

“Well my visit is over” she says and stood “Remember what I said…” I felt my body react walking past me Dongho moved away as she moved closer to me and whispered “Remember that I hate you with all my heart, be lucky to be born child; let’s see how long you can keep this up little girl…”

She started to move out of the room I slip my arm from Donghae and try to move to her, but I end up falling “Aiden!” Hae and Dongho yell and help me up.

“Boys, bring Aiden here” dad said and they did.

I was now sitting on the bed with him; he made everyone leave us for a while to talk

“Adrian….tell me what happened, no lies; just the truth”

I told him from the beginning to the end, I’d sneak glances at him and I’d see his emotions play

“Then when she was leaving; she whispered ‘Remember that I hate you with all my heart, be lucky to be born child; let’s see how long you can keep this up little girl­’” I told him “Dad…what if…”

He hugged me and ruffled my hair “Appa~” I said and he laughs

“I think, Eli will love you matter what; including your friends. If they are truly your friends they will like you for you” I sigh softly.

A knock is heard and I sit up to see the doctor come in “Mr. Kim we are ready for the surgery”

“Alright, may I talk to my two sons please?”

“Sure, five minutes please” he calls to the nurse

“Eli!” I yell and he comes in, and I pat to the spot beside me. He sits down, but he’s super stiff

“Alright boys, I’m going into for the surgery. So I want you to go to JJ’s house and wait for me to call okay? I should be discharged by noon tomorrow. So be good okay”

“Ne appa” I hug him and limp out of the room and Kevin placed his hand on my good shoulder “We should all eat…”

“I’ll cook!” Hae says

“No! After you and Hyuk tricking me I say not” JJ says, “Now get the truck you four…” he says and starts walking to the truck, I laugh and look back to see Eli coming out.

When we got back I noticed Eli being distant with me, I sighed and left and entered the back room without anyone noticing; or so I thought

I was throwing a tennis ball against the ‘wall of holes’ I call it,

“Missed this room?” I recognized JJ’s voice

“Soft of…I look back and think how stupid I was…I should had let it go…instead of damaging the wall…”

“It is fine, I understand…” I catch the tennis ball; I had my knees bent, arms on my legs

“Thank you…”

“For what?”

“Keeping my secret…being there for me…being my best bud, dance partner, everything” I looked at him.

He was smiling and ruffled my hair “Hey, it was simple; also, you’re welcome kid” I laugh softly.

Maybe everything will be good; I think my future will be great.

I look back at the wall and think, what exactly?

About my feelings for Dongho…

I smile slightly

I really like him, but how can I tell him

Or should I even tell him?

I mean…ugh…this is gonna bite!

I lay on the floor and notice that I am alone; I pout “Why can’t I say it straight forward?” I mumbled

“Maybe like this, ‘Dongho, for the past few months I finally came to my senses and realized I really like you?’ no that is super lame!” I rolled onto my stomach and roll the tennis ball back and forth between my hands, thinking.

“’Dongho, I know this will shock you; but I really like you’ no that’s just as bad!” I put my face into the floor and yell in frustration,

Why isn’t this easy?!  

Oh that’s right, because it’s in reverse!

It should be him to say it…but what if he doesn’t like me like that?

Maybe I should say my feelings and see if he returns them….

I hit my head on the floor again.

This is so damn difficult…

_Eli’s POV_

I was sitting on the couch of this kid’s house, JJ if I’m not mistaken…

I sat there thinking, over what I heard earlier

Aiden? A girl? Impossible!

I mean come on, it would show!

Oh wait…there are a few drama’s that have that happen…no Aiden couldn’t be a girl

I mean look at what that kid has been through!

Aiden doesn’t like anything girl related  

He sounds a bit like a girl, but still nothing like a girl!

He’s a male…

How do I know?

I lift my head and sigh deeply, I look over to see Aiden limp in the kitchen and smack JJ hard across te face and glares

“Knock that of dude, I will kick you into next week!”

“Whatever kid…” he says and walks off

“I said let me cook”

“No, and dare I say it; you are cripple so no”

“Why you” Aiden lifted himself onto the counter and over and head locks him

“Ack! Help! Choking here!”

I laugh as Dongho goes to help out, he picks up Aiden and he lets go “You’re lucky James” I heard Aiden say as Dongho placed him down.

I looked at him and noticed his face is more feminine, I look at my hands

What if Aiden is a girl?

Could I treat him/her the same?

I felt a hand on my arm “Hyung, you okay?” Aiden asked, I nod and smile

Well…I’ll have to ask Aid myself who he really is…

I ruffled his hair and he laughs.

If he turns out to be a she, I don’t know what I’d do…but I won’t hurt him….no matter what