The Thing About Heroes....

The Thing About Heroes….
                                                         
Chapter One: Aiden

28 year old Aiden sighed and took another huge sip of coffee. He and his team at the FBI had been working on the biggest case in years, and he hadn’t gotten a full night sleep in weeks. He dropped into his desk chair, reviewing the case file again, looking for something they missed. There had to be something…

Ring, ring! Ring, ring! Went his cell phone. He answered it, “Aiden Bryant.”

“Hi, Aiden. This is Timothy Hall, your parent’s attorney. I’m very sorry to be calling you under such circumstances, and I regret to inform you that….your parents are…dead.”

Aiden felt his heart stop cold. He hadn’t seen his parents in ten years, he hadn’t wanted to. Still…dead? That came a heartbreaking shock.  He felt his eyes fill up with tears. He shook them away, not wanting to cry.

“Aiden? Are you there?” asked Hall.

“Uh, yeah. I’m here. What happened? How is my sister? What is going to happen?” Aiden said in a rush.

“Your father was killed by an accident while he was on active duty. When your mother found out, she overdosed on painkillers. As for your sister, well, she wont talk to anyone. I couldn’t tell you how she is. Maybe she would talk to you. Are you two close?”

“No, I haven’t spoken to her or my parents in ten years.” Aiden replied bitterly, with a trace of remorse in his voice.  He thought back to the last time he saw his little sister Danika. She was four then, which would make her fourteen now. It was hard to believe. He always felt bad for leaving her, but they were 14 years apart and never very close. She was too young. Plus, he had promised himself he would never go back to his parents. And he hadn’t. He snapped out of his thoughts.

“Aiden, I would really appreciate it if you would come and help with the funeral arrangements. Plus, you are the only family Danika has left. If you don’t become her legal guardian, she will be send to foster care and child services.”

“Okay, look. I’ll come down tonight to help with the arrangements. As for Danika, well, I need to talk to her first. I’ll see you tomorrow at your office. Goodbye.” Aiden hung up.

He told his team what happened and that he would be using all his vacation time for a few weeks off. He left and went to his apartment in New York City. He got to his apartment and sat down on the bed. He put his face in his hands, thinking about everything that had happened between him and his family. He had seen his father get drunk. He had seen his anger, known how strict and unbending he was.  He had seen his mother come home every night, drunk and stoned. He had promised himself he would get away, and he did the day he turned 18. He promised himself he would never let himself live like that. He got away in time. But his sister…she was only four when he left. He closed his eyes, remembering the look on her tiny face the last time he saw her. She asked him in her tiny voice not to leave, but angry 18yr old Aiden didn’t care. He had stormed off and never looked back. Now, he was going to face her after all these years. He wondered what she looked like, how she would take the death of her parents. Their parents. Once again, their death hit him hard. Sure, he had wanted to get away.  But somewhere in his heart he had always loved them. He never got the chance to tell them, the chance to make things right, the chance to say goodbye.  He thought about all these things as he drifted to sleep.

The next morning he woke up at 8:00 am. He pulled on jeans and a polo shirt and packed a bag, ready to leave. His parents had lived in New York his whole life. He only lived about 30 minutes away, but it was enough of a distance to keep them apart. He left and drove down to his parent’s house. They didn’t live in the city part of New York, but in the suburbs. When he got to their house, he knocked on the door. Timothy Hall answered it.

“hi, you must be Aiden. I’m Timothy Hall.” They shook hands and then went inside. Timothy said, “Your sister is in her room. Hey Danika, please come here and say hello to your brother.” Timothy called.

After a moment a teenage girl walked down the stairs. She had shoulder length semi curly, blue streaked red hair. She wore black knee length cargo shorts and black and white skater shoes. She had on long layered tank tops. The bottom was light blue, the second dark purple and the top on was black, Over that she had on a black no sleeved sweater that only went to her high/mid stomach, stopping at the top of her ribs. On top of the tank tops was a hip fit silver studded black belt. Her nails were painted jet black. On one wrist she had a black and red leather band watch and on the other wrist were black bracelets. Her dark brown eyes were rimmed with black. She smiled tersely, revealing straight white teeth. Her left ear was pierced four times, with a huge silver hoop in the first hole, a smaller one in the second hole, and silver studs in the third a fourth holes. The right ear was the same, except with only three holes and a small silver hoop in the cartilage at the top of her ear. Her eye brow was also pierced with a silver and black ring that didn’t close in a full circle. Around her neck were four necklaces.  There was a think black choker with a silver cross, a longer crucifix on a black leather chord, a silver St. Rita metal and a silver heart with her name carved in it on a black leather chord. Aiden immediately recognized the heart as a charm he gave her for her fourth birthday, a month or two before he left. He was surprised she still had it. In her ears were white iPod headphones. 

“So, it took two deaths and ten years before you came back.” Danika said bitterly.

Aiden said wryly, “it’s good to see you too.” Danika just looked at him and for a brief second her expression was filled with agony, pain, betrayal, and anger. But then the moment was gone, and the expression on her face was blank.  The room was silent and tense.

“Okay, well. Why don’t we go work on the funeral plans?” Hall said, trying to break the tension.

“Yeah, why don’t we.” Danika said cynically, leading them into the living room,



*~danika~*