Dealing with the Past (4 page)

"Get off me," Aiden said, his voice trembling a little. Laughs and guffaws from behind them let Aiden know the others were there as well. Daniel shoved him up against the wall. The feel of Daniel's body pressed against his own had him nearly retching. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be, and he hated that Daniel was taking his choices from him.

"What's the bet he's hard, hey, boys? After all, he's a fag so he'll be getting off on this."

He could hear Eddie and Shaun laugh uproariously at Daniel's words. "Please," Aiden asked quietly, just wanting them to leave him alone. A lone tear escaped and ran down his cheek.

"Hey, Dan; man that's enough," said Jackson, surprising Aiden.

"Fuck off, man. Someone has to teach this faggot that he's not wanted here." Daniel punctuated his point with a punch to his left kidney. Aiden cried out at the unexpected pain flaring through his body.

Aiden turned his head to the side and looked at the others standing behind him. The looks of glee on Eddie and Shaun's faces were easy enough to read but not Jackson's expression, he looked almost torn with indecision. He looked the boy in the eyes and silently begged him to help. He hoped the concern he thought he saw would compel him to act, he wasn't sure how anyone could stand back and watch someone be treated the way Aiden was. When Jackson didn't move, Aiden's heart broke. Even after everything else Jackson had done to him, this was what hurt him most.

Daniel's fist connected to his side several more times in rapid succession and Aiden bit his lip hard to keep from crying out again.

"Anyone else want a shot?" Daniel asked.

Through watery eyes, Aiden saw all three friends take a step forward and braced himself for more pain. Aiden would never get to find out if Jackson was advancing to help him or beat him, as he suddenly found himself free from
the punishing grip Daniel had on him as Mr Clack, the English teacher, walked in the door.

"What's going on in here?" he asked, eying Aiden over.

"Nothing, sir," Daniel said quickly.

Aiden didn't wait around. He grabbed his bag and pushed past everyone.

Once he was outside, he ran to his car. His hands shook as he pulled the keys from his pockets and unlocked the car. Aiden's insides all jumbled with the turmoil he was going through, he threw his bag on the backseat and got behind the wheel.

Starting the car, Aiden put on his belt, put the car in gear, and floored it. Wanting to be anywhere but school. Tears flowed freely as he peeled out of the parking lot. He didn't care that classes weren't over for the day; he wasn't going to hang around for the other three to get their hands on him as well.

One was more than enough.

* * * *

Aiden bolted upright in bed, his heart pounding as he remembered the terror he had felt being pinned against that bathroom wall while Daniel ground against him. He honestly thought Daniel was going to rape him. Aiden had no doubts that if he'd stayed at the school, it would have happened eventually. Daniel's cruel and twisted thinking would have probably justified hurting Aiden in such a grotesque manner. Why did men like that always think it was okay to hurt a gay man that way? Would the other boys have joined Daniel? Would Jackson? Those thoughts haunted Aiden for a long while after the incident.

He hadn't thought of what happened at Dripstone High in a long while. Aiden had tried to block it from his memories entirely, it had taken some time but he eventually stopped having nightmares. No doubt today's dream was due to his run in with Jackson Thompson.

"Damn you, Jackson," he muttered quietly before lying back down again.

Taking deep breaths to try and calm his racing heart, Aiden then closed his eyes—wishing for a reprieve—but sleep was a long time in finding him.

Chapter 3

Jackson unlocked his door and groaned as he looked at his watch. Two in the morning and he was just now getting home. After his disastrous meeting with Aiden earlier, Jackson had only wanted to go home so he could try and remember where the hell he might know the sexy little man from. Unfortunately his thinking about Aiden had had to wait as Jackson had work responsibilities he couldn't shirk. After he'd left the office that afternoon, he'd driven around aimlessly, not going anywhere in particular and not able to think about anything clearly while his head was still in so much turmoil. Once the sun had set, he'd headed straight to the cemetery to await his first client for the night.

He'd raised four people that night and was exhausted. There was nothing special at all about the people or the reasons behind them being raised. Most of the exciting cases went to Jayden these days. Jackson was still a little miffed that his youngest brother had way more power than him but he was slowly dealing with it. He knew it wasn't Jayden's fault and his brother had never once flaunted his power over Jackson or any of their other siblings—god knows he probably deserved it. For Jayden's tact and humility, Jackson would be eternally grateful.

Jackson closed and locked the door behind him before walking down the passageway in the dark. He knew where everything was and just couldn't be bothered switching on a light for that little walk. Once he arrived in the living area, Jackson kicked off his shoes, emptied his pockets of his wallet, keys, and phone, then placed them all in the bowl sitting on the kitchen bench. He'd learnt long ago that if he put his stuff in the same place every time then he wouldn't ever lose it and end up running around looking like a chook with its head cut off trying desperately to find his items.

As exhausted as Jackson was, he honestly didn't think he would be able to sleep. Aiden and the blowup at the office weighed heavily on his mind. Instead of crawling into bed like he should, Jackson walked into the kitchen and flicked on the light. He filled a short glass with a couple of fingers of good scotch and dropped a few ice cubes into it. Glass in hand, Jackson slowly made his way to the white leather couch and collapsed down, careful not to spill his drink.

Jackson swirled the amber liquid around the glass a couple of times before swallowing a large mouthful. The scotch burned on its way down but Jackson ignored it in favour of taking another drink, finishing it. He slouched back and rested his head against the back of the chair, closing his eyes. Immediately, the hurt, angry face of Aiden Montgomery flashed behind his closed lids. The man's stunning hazel-green eyes seemed to shimmer behind unshed tears.

"Shit!" Jackson exclaimed aloud. "Why can't I remember you?" Suddenly something Aiden said came back to him. "What did he mean by stooping to my level?" Jackson mused.

He might be a bit of an ass but he wasn't a violent person, never really had been. There were a couple of years in high school where it really could have gone either way but luckily his brothers had caught him with some other guys while taking turns ragging on an eighth grader and told his mother what Jackson had been getting up to.

He never wanted to sit through another lecture like that from his mother. The one he and his siblings had gotten earlier this year was nothing compared to the absolute tongue lashing he had received at the end of tenth grade. His parents were so horrified with his actions and concerned about his path, they had transferred him to another school for his final two years. They didn't want Daniel influencing Jackson any more than the boy already had, and decided Jackson needed to learn to stand up for himself and others. Jackson had spent his final two years of school at Casuarina Seniors College and had enjoyed his time there more than the previous years at Dripstone High.

Jackson had never told them how thankful he'd been that they loved him enough to step in and put their foot down. He really hadn't liked the person he was becoming by hanging out with his so-called friends. He carried around regrets from back then, so that's why the problems with Jayden smarted so much.

Jackson had just sort of fallen into their little group when he was fourteen and they'd all signed up to be on the footy team. Things started off okay. They all got along together well, even if Jackson didn't agree with some of Daniel's views; he just kept his mouth shut because it was easier than arguing with the boy. Daniel always believed his views and opinions were correct. He never listened to anyone else; he would just talk over the top of what you were trying to say until you agreed with him. After a while, Jackson stopped trying.

When Daniel started to bully some of the other kids at school, Jackson thought it funny at first and laughed along with Shaun and Eddie at the other kids' expense. Jackson might have been popular and had things come easily to him, but he wasn't comfortable with himself and felt the pressure like all other kids to fit in with his friends. Soon Jackson was participating, not just standing back and laughing, and the four of them continued on like that for a while.

Jackson knew the reason he'd joined forces with the others instead of stopping it was because he thought it was better to be the bully than the one being bullied. His friends would have had a lot to say if they had ever found out that Jackson fantasised about a cute little curly blond boy in their class instead of Megan, the busty brunette he dated. God, Jackson's insecurities about himself caused a lot of problems back then. He almost did some pretty stupid things.

Jackson bolted upright. "Please God, no," he exclaimed as he put his glass down on the coffee table. Jackson practically ran to the bedroom and yanked open his wardrobe doors, searching the shelves for what he was looking for.

Finding his photo albums, Jackson pulled them out and dumped them on his bed. Sitting down, he started to sift through all the individual pictures scattered between the albums until he finally came across the one picture he wanted; his year ten school photo. He scanned the list of names until his eyes fell on the one he sought.

Aiden Montgomery's name was the second last name in the middle row. Jackson stared at the photo. Sure enough, standing in the second row, two from the end was a much younger and sadder version of the man Jackson met today, and Daniel's most favourite victim. Aiden wasn't smiling in the picture. The haunted look in his eyes nearly broke Jackson down into tears as he continued to stare into the face of his mate.

No wonder his mate hated him so much. Jackson's heart broke at all the pain he had caused the man. How could he have been so stupid to go along with the others? He should have stood up to Daniel when they were younger. Jackson knew what they were doing was wrong, but his issues with himself made it hard to speak up. He hadn't wanted to draw attention to himself. His mate had paid the price for his cowardice.

At least he now knew why he couldn't place the name right away. Jackson had no idea what Aiden's name was back then. He was only ever referred to as Monty while they were at school together; Jackson hadn't known that it was a nickname and not his actual first name.

God, I am such an ass. How could I have not known that?
He berated himself silently. Jackson didn't blame Aiden for hating him one bit. He deserved that punch today and so much more. He loathed the person he was back in high school those first couple of years and had tried hard to forget about the type of person he had been, working to improve himself because his parents stepped in.

Jackson knew he had changed a hell of a lot since school. He might have been an ass to Jayden but he'd never bullied his youngest brother. Jackson also had never laid a hand on anyone again since school, even then he'd only done it a couple of times. The incident his brothers witnessed being the last one.

Looking down at the picture of his mate again, Jackson knew the changes he had already started to make when Jayden confronted him six months ago were long overdue. While Jackson knew he wasn't the same bully from high school, he had an ego and was hurt that his brother had kept so much from them that he'd regrettably lashed out. Jackson didn't want to lose his mate because he had a personality defect. Not that he actually had his mate. Aiden hated him at the moment.

Jackson's heart ached at the thought.

Then another thought hit Jackson like a ton of bricks. Aiden had been coming to the Thompson Agency to raise his dead lover. He remembered the file said they were together for three years. Yet another thing to add to the long list detailing why he didn't stand a chance with his mate. Even if Aiden could forgive him, would he even have room in his heart after losing someone he'd loved for three years?

Running his thumb over the print gently, Jackson decided he needed to do everything in his power to convince his mate to give him another chance. He had to talk to Aiden and let him know that he was truly sorry for the hurt that Jackson had caused him. Would Aiden even take a call from him? After the way the man had reacted in the office, Jackson wasn't too hopeful.

Jackson checked his watch to see if it was too late to call and groaned when he read the time. Ten to three. Definitely too late to be calling anyone. He thought about sending a message Aiden would get when he woke but decided a text was a little too impersonal. He really needed all the help he could get if he was going to get his mate to forgive him for what he'd done in the past; being impersonal wouldn't help his case.

Standing up, Jackson put all the photos but the one with Aiden in it back in the wardrobe. He checked his doors and turned off the light in the kitchen before going back to the bedroom. Making sure the air conditioner was on, Jackson pulled back the sheets and collapsed face down on his bed, the photo still clutched in his hand. He drifted off to sleep thinking of all the things he needed to say to his mate, hoping like hell the man didn't just hang up on him as soon as he announced himself.

Chapter 4

Late Sunday afternoon, Jackson parked his car behind his parents' in their driveway. He really didn't want to be here. He had managed to avoid his family at the office by keeping busy with meetings and leaving the office as soon as he was done. He had also refused to take his mother's calls. Jackson knew he was going to catch hell from his mum but he hadn't been ready to talk to any of them about what had happened.