My Childhood Bully is a Mafia Boss-Chapter 17

Ivy, back then...

I brushed a lock of chestnut hair behind my ear, the memory of the confrontation with Aidan replaying in my mind. I had pushed him away, expecting his usual snarl, but instead, there was this flash of something raw and pained in his intense blue eyes that caught me off guard.

It lingered, that look, haunting me. Why did it bother me so much to see Aidan Blackwood, of all people, hurt?

The chime of the classroom bell snapped me back to the present. I shuffled my textbooks, trying to focus on the equations Mr. Kipler scrawled on the board, but my mind wandered.

Usually, Aidan would have made some snide remark by now, his voice dripping with disdain from somewhere behind me. But today, there was nothing—just the scratch of pencils and the occasional cough breaking the silence.

Aidan was there, two rows to my left, slouched in his seat, yet he might as well have been invisible for all the attention he didn’t pay me. I stole a glance in his direction, noting the way his jaw clenched, how his pen tapped an absent rhythm on the desk.

It was weird, the quiet where his mocking tone usually filled the space around us. What did it mean that he wasn’t bothering me? Was he finally tired of our little game of cat and mouse, or was there something else at play?

"Miss Williams, perhaps you’d like to solve the next problem?" Mr. Kipler’s voice broke through my thoughts, and I felt heat creeping up my neck as the class turned to stare.

"Uh, sure," I mumbled, standing awkwardly. I could feel Aidan’s gaze on me as I walked to the front, but when I dared another peek, he was staring down at his paper, disinterested.

Confusion twisted in my gut; I couldn’t make sense of it. My hands trembled slightly as I took the chalk, but I forced myself to focus on the algebra before me, not Aidan.

Surprisingly enough, he didn’t bother me after class either.

I hung out with Lila during lunch period, who just chattered away about some boy she had a crush on.

As I half-listened to Lila gush over her latest infatuation, my thoughts kept wandering back to Aidan. His odd behavior nagged at me. It just wasn’t like him to leave me alone. Ever since the semester started, he had made it his personal mission to torment me at every chance.

So why the sudden silent treatment?

I picked at my sandwich, appetite fading away. Maybe he was just having an off day. Or setting me up for some horrible prank. That thought made my stomach churn. Aidan’s pranks usually ended with me crying in the girl’s bathroom, mascara running down my cheeks.

The memory of his pained expression flashed in my mind again. As much as I wanted to deny it, something told me this wasn’t just another cruel game. Aidan was unpredictable, but the raw emotion I glimpsed in his eyes felt...real.

The bell rang, pulling me from my thoughts. Lila bounded up, still chattering about her crush as we dumped our trays. I tried to focus on her words, but my gaze drifted across the cafeteria. Aidan stood with his usual group, hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket. His shoulders were hunched, head down. Even from here, I could see the tension radiating from him.

"Ivy? Hello, earth to Ivy!" Lila waved her hand in front of my face. "What’s going on with you today?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry," I mumbled. "Just got lost in thought."

Lila giggled, linking her arm through mine. "Come on, daydreamer. We’ve got History next."

I let her pull me along, but I couldn’t resist one last glance back at Aidan. This time, his eyes met mine, and a little shiver went down my spine.

There was something different in that icy blue gaze today. Something that left me feeling unsettled and confused. But before I could study it further, he looked away, his face an unreadable mask.

What was going on with Aidan Blackwood?

~-~

I took the long way home. I missed my bus and didn’t want to call Mom for a ride. I knew she would get angry with me for walking home but the school wasn’t too far from home and I couldn’t resist the urge to get some fresh air.

The autumn leaves crunched underfoot, the chill in the air biting at my exposed skin. I wrapped my arms tighter around myself.

A wrong turn took me down an unfamiliar street, the houses here more worn, with paint peeling and shutters hanging askew.

Oops! It looked like the kind of area my parents warned me about and told me to avoid at all costs.

Just as I was about to turn around, a commotion made me stop walking.

"Useless! Can’t do anything right!" The harsh voice cut through the quiet neighborhood.

I froze. There, in the driveway of a particularly rundown house, stood Aidan, his father looming over him like a tempest about to break.

The older man’s hand was raised, and before I could even gasp, it came down hard across Aidan’s face. The sound of the slap was crisp, echoing off the neighboring houses.

Aidan staggered back, his intense blue eyes wide with shock and pain, but he didn’t fall. He didn’t cry out. He just clenched his jaw, set his shoulders, and braced for another blow.

I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. My heart hammered against my ribs, each beat screaming for me to do something. But what? What could someone like me do against the towering fury that was Aidan’s father?

The man grabbed Aidan’s shirt, shaking him. "You’ll amount to nothing, boy!"

I pressed my back against the cold wall of the nearest house, my hands shaking. This was Aidan, who had tormented me, who had been the bane of my existence. And yet, seeing him like this—vulnerable, hurt—it tore at something deep within me.

My compassionate nature warred with my instinct for self-preservation. Part of me wanted to rush forward, to put myself between Aidan and his father, but fear rooted me to the spot. I didn’t know how to help, how to make it stop. It felt like betrayal, standing there doing nothing while someone suffered.

"Dad, come on," Aidan’s voice was barely audible, cracked with desperation. "It’s not a big deal."

I gasp, my hand flying to my mouth. Aidan looks up at his dad with defiance burning in his blue eyes. A bruise is already forming on his cheek.

"Get up," his dad growls.

Aidan slowly rises to his feet. He sways slightly but manages to stay upright. His dad gets right in his face.

"You think you’re tough? You’re nothin’," he spits.

My whole body trembles. I want to scream at Aidan’s dad to stop, but my voice catches in my throat.

Aidan doesn’t respond. He just glares at his dad, his jaw set. I’ve never seen him look so vulnerable, so devoid of his usual cocky attitude.

His dad shoves him hard. Aidan stumbles but doesn’t fall this time.

"Hey!" a voice shouts.

I saw a frail-looking girl standing at the door, her green eyes wide.

"Get inside, Ellie," Aidan’s dad hissed. "This ain’t your business."

It must be Aidan’s sister, I thought.

My breath caught in my throat as I watched the scene unfolding before me. Aidan’s sister, Ellie, stood defiantly in the doorway, unwilling to simply go back inside while her brother was being abused.

"Leave him alone!" she shouted, her voice surprisingly steady despite her waifish appearance.

Aidan’s dad turned toward her, his face contorted in anger. "Don’t tell me what to do, you useless junkie," he snarled.

I felt sick. How could a father speak that way to his own daughter?

Ellie didn’t back down. "If you hit him again, I’ll call the cops," she threatened. Aidan looked at his sister in surprise. I could tell he wasn’t used to having anyone stand up for him.

Aidan’s dad laughed derisively. "Go ahead and call them," he said with a sneer. "No one cares what happens in this piece of crap neighborhood."

He turned back to Aidan, pulling his arm back for another blow. Without thinking, I rushed forward.

"Stop!" I cried out. Aidan and his dad both turned to look at me in shock.

"Just leave him alone," I said, my voice trembling.

Aidan’s dad lowered his fist slowly. His lips curled into a cruel smile. "Well, well," he said. "What do we have here? Aidan’s got himself a little girlfriend?"

My cheeks burned, but I held my ground. "I’m not his girlfriend," I said as firmly as I could. "I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt."

Aidan was staring at me, his blue eyes unreadable. I looked back at him steadily. For a long moment, no one moved.

Finally, Aidan’s dad spat on the ground. "Whatever," he muttered. "Get rid of your girl and go on work on my car," he said to Aidan and went back inside the run-down house, slamming the door behind him.

I let out a shaky breath, my heart pounding. Ellie hurried over to Aidan. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Aidan nodded, not taking his eyes off me. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I’m okay."

I could tell from his guarded expression that he wasn’t used to kindness, especially not from me. But seeing him battered and abused had awakened my compassion.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Aidan barked.