Ditched Cheating Alpha, I Led My Daughter to Life's Peak novel Chapter 225

I head towards the stairs. Somewhere in between stepping over a lego and reaching to turn the lights off, I relent. Fine. I'll see if he's there. Fine. I'll be the bigger person-thank god one of us can be.

I open the back door, glaring into the darkness. "Aiden?"

It's pitch black. Leaves rustle somewhere. I take a step back. They rustle again. Even though my eyes are starting to adjust to the darkness, everything in me tells me to shut the door. I listen.

"Wait," I hear just before it closes.

It's Krys' voice. I peek through the crack.

She's at the edge of the trees, pointing somewhere in my general direction. I raise an eyebrow. What is she...

I flinch.

Aiden's there. He's leaning against the house, arms crossed. His cold eyes glare at her. Then at me. I don't say anything. He doesn't either.

"Did you need something?" I ask.

"Did you?"

I sigh, leaning against the door frame. It's absolutely too late to be playing these games with him. "If that's all you came here to say, goodbye."

He doesn't hesitate to leave.

My mouth falls open, but I don't stop him. If that's what he wants. I glare at his back the whole time, but before he makes it out of sight, he stops.

"Actually." He turns around, one foot and then the other. "I did have something to say."

Oh here we go.

He looks me dead in the eyes. "Don't call me unless you're dying."

"My thoughts exactly." I give him a flat look. Neither one of us breaks eye contact.

Krys looks like she's about to cry. "No..." She turns to me. "No, you guys can't do this." She throws herself against a tree.

Um? My eyes follow her.

Brittany's do the same, quizzically. "Are you alright?"

"Get him in that house," Krys growls.

"Why?" Brittany asks.

"Because, if you get him..." Krys points at Aiden. "...in there..." She point at my house. "We finally get to leave."

Brittany's eyes light up. Within seconds, Aiden comes flying through the door. My mouth falls open.

"Behave," Brittany tells us.

"And I hung up on you." I look into his eyes.

We stand in silence. I cross my arms. He stands firm where he is. Neither one of us makes a move. Neither one of us swallows our pride, even though I know he's the one who needs to. I opened the door, so it's his move now.

He runs his fingers through his hair. Only now do I realize how tired he looks. He looks at me, stepping closer. Again. And again. And again.

I don't stop him from coming into my personal space. The already tiny gap between us turns into absolutely nothing. He's right in front of me, staring down into my eyes with that expression he always has. The cold one. The distant one. The 'I don't need anyone but myself' one.

He reaches towards my side, but his hand isn't on me. It's on the door knob. I furrow my brow.

"You're in the way." He rattles the knob. "Move."

I cock my head back. Move? I'm in the way? "That's all you have to say to me?"

"What else is there to say?" He nudges me with his arm.

There's no way to describe what I feel in that moment. Move. Like this isn't my freaking house. Like I'm the problem.

If he was on the phone, I'd hang up on him, again, but he isn't. He's standing right in front of me, and I have to do something now. So I just shake my head and do as he asks.

I move. It's the boys in the hardware store all over again. There's no point in saying anything else. He just doesn't get it. If he could, he would've by now. So I save my breath. "Whatever." Whatever it takes to just get him out of my house.

He turns the knob, opening the door. I wait to lock it behind him, but he never leaves. He just stands there, glaring at the wood.