Relentless Hope (Resilient Hearts) Read online

  The corner of his mouth turns up into a smile. “You think you’re smart, don’t you? That tongue of yours will get you in trouble one of these days.”

  The mention of the word tongue and the way he says it brings fresh memory of how my tongue tangled up with his last night and how I long to use my tongue to get into real trouble with him. The thoughts make a blush creep up my cheeks.

  I raise my head to see Aiden studying me with a knowing smile. “Where is your mind at?” he asks with a smirk.

  Heat instantly rises up my cheeks, making my face turn crimson red.

  He laughs at my reaction. “Get your mind out of the gutter. I’m not letting your tongue get me into any more trouble than it already has.”

  We make our way to the next extended stay. This one looks cleaner and is in a much better shape. Once we find out the rate, we understand why. The price is cheaper than a regular hotel, but not by much. At this price, Aiden could probably stay here for about ten days, but he won’t have much money left for anything else.

  We decide to drive around the area to see if we can find anything else. After about half an hour of driving around, just when Aiden asks me to make a U-turn in disappointment, we see a gated apartment complex. The place is clean and average looking. It doesn’t seem like a luxury complex, but it’s not run down either. As we make our way to the leasing office, I can tell Aiden is excited about the place.

  The lady at the desk greets us politely and asks us to take a seat. After a few minutes, we are called in to a smaller office where a middle-aged woman introduces herself as Mary and asks us what we’re looking for. Aiden explains to her that he’s looking for a one bedroom apartment to move into immediately.

  “Is this just for the two of you? Or would anybody else be living with you?” she asks.

  The assumption that we’re a couple planning on living together takes me by surprise. I’m shocked at how much the idea excites me.

  “No, it’s just for me,” Aiden says quickly, before my mind has a chance to start dreaming about things that will never happen.

  “Well, today must be your lucky day. We just had a tenant leave unexpectedly a couple of days ago and the place was cleaned today. You could move in tomorrow if you wanted to. Do you want to go see it?”

  Aiden’s whole face lights up. “Yea, that would be great.”

  We take a quick tour of the apartment. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s clean and has all the basic necessities. I can tell Aiden is a bit unsure about living at such a simple place, but he also feels relieved that he’s finally found something reasonable.

  We walk back to the office and I stay quiet while Aiden discusses the rent and the required deposit with her. The rent is reasonable, but after they make the calculations, we realize that with the deposit, the application fee and the first month rent, Aiden will have very little money left in his pockets until his first paycheck.

  I hate the look of uncertainty that crosses his face when he realizes that he may not even be able to afford this place. I can only imagine how sobering it must be for him to realize how paralyzing lack of money can be.

  He takes a deep breath. “I’ll have to think about…”

  “He’ll take it,” I jump in.

  Aiden turns his head quickly in my direction. “Aleah–I have to do some calculations to see if I can do this,” he hisses under his breath.

  I instinctively put my hand on his in comfort. “We’ll figure it out,” I say calmly.

  “Would you mind giving us a second alone please?” Aiden turns to the lady.

  She leaves the room quietly. As soon as she’s gone, Aiden turns back to me. “What do you mean we’ll figure it out? All I’ll have left after this will be about six hundred dollars, and I’ll have to live with that for about two weeks. Plus, I’ll need to buy some stuff for the apartment. Even if I sleep on the floor, I would still need to buy a blanket and some basic necessities.”

  “You can buy enough basic necessities for six hundred dollars to last you for two weeks.”

  “What about food? What about transportation? I’ll have to rent a car too to get to work every day.”

  “No, you don’t. I can drive you to work.”

  “You’re going to drive all the way here every day to give me a ride to and from work?”

  “Why not? It’s not like I have anything else going on in my life right now. It’ll be good for me to get out of the house every day. Plus, it’s temporary. You can get a car as soon as you have your first paycheck.”

  “What about everything else? What about food?”

  “I’m going to have to teach you how to eat on a budget,” I say with a smile. “Believe me you can get enough food at the grocery store to last you a couple of weeks for less than one hundred dollars. It may not be steaks and caviar, but it’ll fill your stomach.”

  “Are you sure?” he asks, hesitation written all over his face. “I’ve never had to live with such a small budget, so I really don’t know what’s possible.”

  “I don’t think you’ve ever had to live with a budget, period, but no worries. You have the perfect person to teach you how to do it,” I say with a cringe as I remember my very limited budget when I left my parent’s house and how I had to make it last.

  After our stressful day, Aiden and I decide to stay in and eat pizza as we watch a movie. Once dinner is over, I start feeling the exhaustion of the day catch up with me. I barely slept a wink last night and today has not been an easy one.

  Aiden puts his arm around my shoulder as we sit next to each on the couch and I let my body relax next to his. At some point during the movie, I feel my head resting against his shoulder, but I’m too tired to care.

  When I open my eyes, the first thing I notice is that I am horizontal. I don’t remember falling sleep like that. I blink a few times, and then turn my head to gaze into his sparkling emerald ones. A tender smile crosses his lips, as he slowly runs his fingers through my hair. I try to get up as soon as I realize my head is in his lap, but he gently holds me down.

  “You looked uncomfortable with your neck propped up against my shoulder so I moved you down to lie on the couch. I hope that’s okay,” he says, his voice laced with uncertainty.

  I nod my head. A smile crosses his lips in return. He’s looking at me with such tenderness that my stomach flutters.

  “You look so peaceful when you sleep.”

  “I do?”

  “Yea, you do…except for the occasional loud snores, of course,” he says with a devious smile.

  I smack his hand. “I do not.”

  He arches his eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

  “Do I?” I ask in horror.

  He breaks into a laugh. “Gotcha.” And just like that the tender moment passed between us is turned into a playful banter.

  We wake up early the next day, in anticipation of a full day of moving and getting Aiden’s apartment ready before his first day of work. After we get the key to his apartment, we make a list of items he needs, and head out for shopping.

  I review the list once we get to the car and suggest going to Walmart. Aiden’s eyes got so big with the mention of the word Walmart that I think they are about to burst out of his head.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve never been to Walmart?”

  “I’ve probably gone at least once. I just don’t remember it right now,” he says, with a shy smile.

  “Oh, we’re going to have so much fun. I’m going to introduce you to all the fun you’ve missed out as a spoiled rich brat,” I say playfully.

  “Hey. I’m not spoiled.”

  “Sure, you aren’t,” I say as I mutter “spoiled brat” under my breath, before bursting into a laugh.

  Once we get there, I head to the bedding area first. After finding an air mattress, and a reasonably priced bedding set, I take him to the bath area to buy towels and other toiletries.

  “This stuff isn’t too bad,” he says, after he picks out a cheap shower curtain. I know everythi
ng we’re buying is way below the quality he’s used to, but he’s trying to stay positive and not act snobbish. I decide to play along.

  “See, the peasants live too. A four dollar shower curtain does the same work as a two hundred dollar one.”

  “True,” he says with a smile. “I don’t know. I might get used to this lifestyle and not ever want to be rich again.”

  I can’t help bursting into a laugh. “Somehow I doubt that.”

  After we’re done at Walmart, I decide to test his new found interest in cheap low quality goods. So I drive to the dollar store. I pull up slowly and turn my head around to gauge his reaction.

  “The dollar store?” he asks with a surprised expression.

  I arch my eyebrow.

  “What would we buy there?”

  “I’m about to open your mind to a whole new world.”

  We go up and down the aisles at the dollar store, and I enjoy watching Aiden’s expression as he excitedly examines all the stuff you can buy here for a dollar. His expression is that of a kid in a candy store.

  “I never thought you could buy food at the dollar store. Is this stuff even edible?”

  I can’t help my chuckle. “Yup, I’m pretty sure people eat these. See all these people shopping here, with their carts full of food items, I would guess these people eat them, and get this, they all seem to be still alive,” I say with a smirk.

  “Haha… I just can’t imagine food this cheap being healthy.”

  “Well, it’s not organic food from your local Whole Foods, but it won’t kill you either.”

  “Hmmm…” is all he says, before moving on to the next aisle.

  After buying some stuff for the kitchen and some cleaning supplies from the dollar store, I take Aiden to the grocery store where I introduce him to “cheap college student type food.”

  “What’s that?” he asks, as I lead the way down to the soup aisle.

  “Your rich boy ass is about the get the college experience he never got back then,” I tease.

  “Believe me I got enough of a college experience.”

  “Not the kind I’m about to show you… Tada…” I say as we reach the shelves holding containers of Ramen noodles, “Number one college student food item. Cheap and all you have to do is stick it in the microwave.”

  “That’s not healthy,” he says as puckers his eyebrows.

  Aiden is one of the most health conscious people I’ve ever met. Every time we’ve gone out to eat, he orders a salad first and his meals usually consist of vegetables and lean meat. Except for his occasional indulgence to satisfy his sweet tooth, I’ve barely seen him eat anything unhealthy. Going on a processed food binge is going to be hard for him, but knowing that he can’t afford the type of food he usually eats, I try to joke around to make the experience a little less difficult for him.

  “I promise you eating this stuff for a couple of weeks won’t kill you,” I say as I throw a couple of boxes of Ramon noodle in the cart. “Just try it.”

  I lead the way to the cereal aisle next. “You want something less unhealthy, pick an unsweetened cereal, buy some bananas and milk, and voila, you will have healthy breakfast for a week for less than a dollar a day. You can even get creative and try this for dinner too.” He nods his head, as he studies the boxes of cereal.

  We continue our shopping where I introduce him to instant coffee, hotdogs, and TV dinners.

  When we get to his apartment, I start putting our shopping away in the kitchen, while he unpacks his bags and hangs his clothes in the small closet. After I’m done with the kitchen, I make my way to his bedroom to see if he needs any help setting up his room. We take the air mattress out of the box and connect it to the pump. After it’s filled with air, I lie on it to test the firmness. The bounciness is a pleasant surprise, reminding me of the trampoline we had in the backyard when I was a kid.

  “Oh, it’s bouncy,” I say with a laugh, as I start rocking my body up and down on the mattress.

  “This is fun. You should try it,” I blurt out, before I think about what I’m saying.

  I whirl my head around as soon as the words are out of my mouth, wanting to see his reaction. His eyes are glued to my hips as they rock up and down on the mattress, and a mischievous smile crosses the corners of his mouth.

  “You sure you want me to join you in bouncing the mattress, Aleah?” he asks with a raised eyebrow. I feel a brush creeping up my cheeks, as I scramble to rise from the mattress.

  A hearty laugh escapes his mouth. “You don’t have to get up. I was enjoying the view,” he says with a twinkle in his eyes.

  “I think I’m going to get some water to drink from the kitchen,” I say, as I almost run from the room.

  I hear his chuckle behind me as I make my escape. “You look so sexy when you blush.”

  A couple of hours later, I dry my hands with the towel and look around the bathroom. Feeling satisfied that the place is clean and has all the basic necessities, I head out to look for Aiden. I find him standing next to the window in the living room staring out into space. He looks lost in his thoughts, his forehead puckered into a frown.

  I stand there and take his presence in. You would think that after spending almost every waking hour with him for the past couple of weeks, I would be used to his looks by now, but my constant association with him has made my body even more aware of his. The mere sight of him still takes my breath away.

  His jeans are riding low on his hips, and the green t-shirt on his back tugging tight on his broad shoulders and bulging biceps. He has a light stubble on his cheeks, and the sun dancing on his face brings out his thick eyelashes. One look at him makes my mouth dry and my heart running wild. But it’s not just his physical appearance that makes every fiber of my being come to life every time I lay my eyes on him. It’s also the way he carries himself. The sexy combination of confidence and charm that has undoubtedly stolen the hearts of many women. The glimpses of vulnerability he has recently shown me only make him even more irresistible to me.

  As my eyes roam over this magnificent man, I can’t help but feel that my heart is slowly losing its battle to stay detached. Every more second I spend in his presence, I lose ownership of one more cell of my being, as the particles that make up my heart slowly change from my possession to his. This realization makes me gulp for air. Aiden notices my presence then and slowly turns towards me, giving me a sad smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

  Wanting to lighten his mood, I walk up to him with a smile. “Well, I think we did pretty well given the circumstances, don’t you think?”

  He shrugs his shoulders. I reach up to him then and place my hand on his back in comfort. “Come on Aiden. I know this is way below what you’re used to, but you should be happy we were able to get you a place and some basic necessities in a mere two days. It could have been a lot worse.”

  He whirls around. “That’s not what has my mind occupied... I know it could have been a lot worse, and I’m extremely grateful for all of this,” he says, waving his hand around the apartment. “In fact, I think this is the best way for me to start this experiment.” He turns his head around staring out the window once more, and taking a deep breath before continuing.

  “I normally live my life in a bubble. It’s a bubble of all things fake. I’m surrounded by objects and people that occupy my days and my mind, and make time go by, but don’t mean anything to me. If I had stayed with one of my friends, or even if Grandpa hadn’t made me leave my own house, I would still be surrounded by the same meaningless distractions that filled my days before. I don’t need that right now. For this,” he says as he spins around to face me, “for this, I need a clean slate. I need to focus on what matters. I think that’s what Grandpa wanted too. He knew exactly what he was doing, especially with asking you to move into the house. He knew that with your pure heart, you would come to my help when everyone else deserted me and he knew how much I would need your help and your calming presence.”

  I take a shaky
breath, as my mind wonders over why I think David wanted me to become friends with Aiden. The memory of the painful way in which I met David is still raw, but I decide to share some of it with Aiden anyway.

  “Aiden–I think the reason your grandpa wanted me to become friends with you was because I went through a similar experience not too long ago.”

  “Similar experience? In what way?”

  “In the way you lost all your belongings and your friends in a very short time period.” I take a trembling breath, trying to find the nerve to share some of my most painful memories with him.

  “I used to have a lot of friends and a pretty good relationship with my family. I had also grown up very dependent on my family. That’s the way they wanted it and I went along. I lived at home. Never worked a day in my life before and didn’t even have my own bank account... Then something…something happened. I made a mistake. A bad judgment call. And when people found out, everyone including my family deserted me. I had to actually run away from my family home with very little belongings. I had a lot less money than what you were given, and had to find a job and a place to stay on my own before I ran out of money. And let me tell you, finding a job in less than a week for someone who hasn’t had any work experience is harder than you might think, and finding a roof over your head…yea, that’s even harder. That week was the worst week of my life.”

  I pause to calm my surging emotions, taking several deep breaths and closing my eyes to blink away the tears welling up behind them at the memory. He walks up to me and puts his hands on my shoulders. His simple touch is a calming balm to my aching heart. He moves his hands to run his fingers gently across my cheeks and my breath hitches.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he says in a soft voice.

  I look up into his sparkling emerald eyes and can’t help the smile crossing my lips. “It’s okay. That was a while back. I just get emotional thinking about it, because it was such a difficult time in my life, but I’m at a very different place now… The point is, I had to scramble to figure things out on my own in a very short time period. I think maybe that’s why your grandpa thought I might be helpful to you.”