Chap 30: Bad Day

The next few months were the best time in Aiden's life. He and Noah were officially dating, and Noah was the best boyfriend anyone could ever have. Noah couldn't seem to get enough of his boyfriend and stuck to him at all times except during their classes. They went on dates whenever they had free time from their hectic schedule. Sometimes, Aiden even accompanied Noah to his home, and he had eventually gotten closer to Noah's family.

Aiden had just finished his last semester exam while Noah and his friends waited for him in the cafeteria. Aiden was already late as his Professor had requested his help to put back the papers in his office. By the time Aiden left the office, the building was almost deserted when his senior, Stan, stopped him. " Finally, I found you alone."

" I-I got to go," Aiden said and tried to leave, but Stan grabbed him and pushed him towards the wall. " I am not done talking to you."

"W-What do you want?" Aiden asked fearfully.

" You interest me a lot, and... you are cute," Stan said huskily, moving a finger through Aiden's cheek.

" P-Please, I have to go; my friends are waiting," Aiden stuttered in an attempt to show that his friends might come for him.

" Friends..." Stan sneered, annoyed. " Whenever I try to get you alone, you are always with your f**king friends. Why can't you spare some time for me?"

Aiden trembled in fear and tried to escape, but Stan's grip on him was too firm.

" What's going on there?"

Stan immediately backed away from Aiden when he heard someone's stern voice. He turned and saw his senior Shawn walking towards them.

" Are you okay?" he asked Aiden when he saw him scared out of his wits.

"I-I am fine," Aiden said in relief that Noah's friend was here.

" What do you want from him?" Shawn asked Stan accusingly.

" I was just talking to my junior," Stan said, trying to look strong though he was terrified. Shawn had quite a reputation in the Engineering department, and nobody would mess with him.

" Stay away from my friend," Shawn warned and left with Aiden leaving Stan to fume in anger.

Together, they walked out of the building and met Noah and his friends, who were looking for Aiden.

" Oh, there you are. What took you so long?" Noah asked Aiden.

" I-I..." Aiden was thinking about what to say, but Shawn replied for him.

" Someone was trying to mess with him."

" What? Who?" Noah asked, looking concerned and angry at the same time.

Shawn approached Noah and whispered into his ear. " Though your boyfriend doesn't know it, he's quite popular for reasons you surely won't like." Shawn then backed away and spoke to everyone. " Anyways, I am getting late for my date. Let me know if you need some help," He said to Aiden and left.

" What happened?" Rob asked, looking at Aiden with worry.

"A senior stopped me. It's not a big deal," Aiden replied softly.

" You are lying," Noah said with a blank face. He could read Aiden like a pro.

Aiden suddenly lifted his head, peeked at Noah, and knew it was no use lying to him. " He just asked me to spare some time for him."

" Why?" Noah asked, gritting his teeth so that he did not scare Aiden.

" I don't know."

" It's obvious," Jay muttered, much to Noah's displeasure. " Let's go for lunch; I am hungry," he suggested to lighten the mood.

During lunch, Noah seemed to be distracted, and everyone knew why.

" Chill, Dude! You will dig a hole in your plate," Jay said, rolling his eyes.

Noah glanced at his boyfriend when he noticed a slight reddish bruise on his arm. " What happened?" Noah asked Aiden though he had a clue what it might be. Maybe the encounter with his senior was not as simple as Aiden had described.

Aiden looked at his arm and was surprised to see the reddish finger marks at the spot where Stan had grabbed him.

When Aiden didn't respond, Noah asked, " It's your senior, right? Did he hurt you?"

" No, he just... grabbed my hand. But Shawn came there at the right time."

Noah was seriously worried for Aiden. He was the type who would never try to defend himself from others. What would have happened if Shawn hadn't shown up? He shuddered at the thought and wished he could be with Aiden at all times to protect him.

" Please, stay out of trouble for my sake," Noah said, unable to say anything else.

" I always try to," Aiden said without hesitation, as that had always been his goal, but seems like he was a trouble magnet.

After lunch, Noah left to go to his department for some work while Aiden headed to his room. While in his room, he got a call from Mrs. Carson, the receptionist at the dormitory, asking him to come over as someone was there to meet him. Aiden wondered who it would be and thought it must be Stan. Though he was reluctant to go, he felt a sense of assurance at the fact that he would not be alone.

When he reached the reception, he saw two people, a man, and a woman, who were standing near the window staring outside. He didn't see their faces and thought they might be there for someone else. He approached Mrs. Carson, who smiled at him and said, " Oh!! You are here!! They were asking for you, " she said, pointing at the same people Aiden had just seen. Aiden looked surprised and turned around when his blood ran cold.

" My baby's grown up," the woman's chilling voice fell on his ears, and he felt disgusted as well as scared. He took a step back while Mrs. Carson looked at him in concern. " Is there a problem here?"

" Oh no, Mrs. Carson. Our son is just shocked. We didn't tell him we were coming as we wanted to surprise him," Aiden's mother said sweetly while his father stood beside her, continuously staring at Aiden. His parents hadn't changed much and looked the same as they looked ten years ago except for his mother's golden hair, which had grown long.

" That's so sweet of you. The kids here miss their families a lot."

" Come on, Aiden. Let's go to a quiet place where we can catch up," his mother gave him a glare warning him to obey. He unwillingly followed them as he didn't want to create a scene and reveal his dark past.

They went to a quiet corner in the garden where Mr. and Mrs. Grey sat at a bench gazing at their son.

" You are studying at such a good University. Where did you get the money from?" Aiden's father spoke to him finally. He had just met his parents after such a long time, and instead of asking him how he was doing, they asked about the money. It was always about the damn money. They hadn't changed a bit.

" I-I got a scholarship," Aiden stuttered.

" Don't you lie to us," his father seethed in anger. " We know everything about you. You were adopted by the Billionaire Hunt family. "

Aiden didn't respond and looked at his so-called parents, whose eyes sparkled with greed.

" Don't you think you should repay your Mamma for giving birth to you?" his mother said in her sickly sweet voice, which reminded him of the olden times when they tortured him. He felt a shiver run through his spine and realized he was scared of them even now.

" I-I am no longer in contact with them. They stopped supporting me after I turned 18."

" You dare to lie to us again?" his Dad got up and approached Aiden. He gripped Aiden's wrist and pressed hard, piercing him with his sharp nails. Aiden cringed and tried to back away, but his father was too strong.

" Calm down, honey. Look at your surroundings. We don't want to go back to the prison."

" How can I calm down when we have a pathetic son like him?" Mr. Grey said in disgust. " He ruined our lives. We have been rotting in prison for so long while he lived his life at a luxurious Mansion." He then turned towards Aiden and threatened. "We need the cash, and we need it now. Since you are a rich boy now, arranging 1 million dollars won't be a problem."

"W-What?" Aiden asked in shock. " I-I don't have that much money."

" We know, silly," his Mom added. " You just have to get it from the Hunt's."

Aiden felt the floor slip beneath his feet. How can his parents be so cruel? Asking the Hunts for help was out of question, and the money he had saved from his part-time jobs was barely enough for his expenses. Enough was enough. He had to stop them. He was no longer an 8-year old who they could threaten as they please.

" I told you already that I am not in contact with them. I suggest you please leave," Aiden said, trying to look strong.

" Oh, so you are no longer scared of us?" his Dad said, eyes blazing with fury. " Have you forgotten what we are capable of?" He moved his razor-sharp nails across Aiden's wrist, causing it to bleed.

Aiden gritted his teeth to stop himself from screaming while helplessly trying to escape from his grip.

" What the f**k are you doing?" Noah screamed and pushed Mr. Grey away from Aiden. " Who the hell are you, and how dare you try to harm him?" When Noah hadn't found Aiden in his room, he tried calling him, but his phone was left on his bed. Fearing that Aiden's senior would trouble him again, he frantically searched the campus for Aiden.

" I think we should leave for now," Mrs. Grey whispered to her husband.

Mr. Grey nodded and looked at Aiden. " This is not over," he said and walked away with his wife.

Noah was about to retort, but Aiden stopped him. " Please, Noah, let them go."

" What's going on, Aiden? Who are those people?"

" T-They are my parents," Aiden whispered, looking down.

" What? Your biological parents or...?"

Aiden nodded and looked away in shame. This was the part of his life that he wanted to hide from everyone, especially Noah. Now that Noah had seen him, would he not love him anymore?

" Then why were they hurting you?" Noah asked, confused but suddenly recalled Aiden saying that his parents were abusive. He looked at Aiden's wrist and saw a long gash that was bleeding. " Did he do that to you?" he asked, trying to control his rage. This was worse than he thought.

Aiden nodded again.

"Let's get this treated first, and after that, you are telling me everything."