The Best Friend's Contract

Kenna

To say that I regret this decision on going to Dallas with Aidan is an understatement because apparently, I quite like it. We might be spending a week in Texas, enjoying our time as a family with his... family but we've been childhood friends. Being friends for as long as twenty years is worth more. We used to spend so much time together when we were kids, teenagers and even in universities but unfortunately, after both of us had gone to our own paths in our careers, we lost the time to spend. "There they are," Aidan says before pointing at familiar people in a group, making me turn and follow his gaze.

Diana and Mia are standing with smiles on their faces as they both wave towards our direction; gesturing for us to take our steps towards them. Both Aidan and I pull onto our luggage, side to side and heading straight as I take glances down the road. To my surprise, Diana pulls me in for a hug which causes my eyes to widen in surprise but slowly raise my hands and pat onto her back. It's not a strange gesture but our relationship was quite different before... she was my best friend's mother but now she's also my mother-in-law.

If I ever compare my own mother-in-law and the ones in movies, I can't say they don't appear to be the same because she is by one... creeps me out, somehow. All of a sudden, I just have to make myself seem more perfect than I was before in order for her to like me; it's a quick feeling that comes naturally.

"We're so glad that you both made it," She says as we both break the hug and I slowly smile up at Aidan, who seemed to be looking at us. "We can spend more time as a family together and you two can even consider this as your honeymoon. It brings back old memories to me whenever I'm here... and I hope it can bring you memories in the future, too."

"Right... where's the rest?" Aidan asks, looking around.

"They're all waiting for you at home," Mia replies. "Ava was mostly excited when she heard that her Uncle Gabby will be spending more time with her this week," She adds.

"I can't wait to pinch her chubby cheeks," He replies with a soft chuckle as the four of us make our way towards a silver Mercedes-Benz. Just as I'm about to lift my own luggage and put it in the trunk, he has already lifted it up for me; instantly leaving me to eye his face, seeing that it was a natural gesture for him instead of giving me an actual meaning.

His brown eyes meet mine, "What's in there, anyway? It seems like you're planning to stay here for the whole month instead of a week," He says, closing the trunk.

After rolling my eyes, I instantly make my way towards the backseat but to only find Mia and Diana sitting at the back-talking about a few things on social media as Mia scrolls down on her phone, leaving me to sit at the front while Aidan's the one who has to drive. My eyes wander towards the amount of people walking towards the airport and away to the available cabs, not bothered by the sound of Aidan's voice beside me probably telling me something important.

All of a sudden, the smell of his cologne hits me as he leans towards me but to only realise that he's currently putting my seat belt on; making me stare down at his brown locks. Then, he leans back, our faces are inches apart as he glances down at my lips. "Safety first, love." He grins, sparing a couple of seconds to glance back at a smiling Diana.

"I could've done it on my own," I respond, quietly.

"You could've if you actually paid attention to what I said earlier instead of zoning out," He says as he presses onto the gas pedal before driving down the road. "What has been on your mind lately, Kenna? You've been in deep thoughts since morning." He adds, slowly. "Just about work. Nothing too serious," I answer, uncomfortably shifting in my seat; knowing that his mother and sister are at the back probably eavesdropping to our conversation but then again, they're too busy talking about some popular celebrity embarrassing herself in public. "It's just that... it feels different to be away from all the patients,"

"You mean from all the needles and smell of medicines? That has got to be refreshing." He chuckles, lightly as I join him-actually agreeing to him, somehow.

Truth be told, I wouldn't be here in Dallas with him if Ben didn't decide to cover up my shifts for the week because out of the blue... he decided to do it which is pretty surprising. I've been covering his shifts for the past few months because apparently, he likes to take a few days off or probably even a week.

Ben is one of my colleagues. He's a nice guy apart from someone who likes to take advantage of my workaholic trait-he knows how much I am married to my work, so he would always ask me to cover up for him; taking extra shifts, including night shifts even when I'm free to go home for the day.

So... when I told Aidan about going

to Dallas with him, it was because Ben said he would cover my shifts. He literally pressured me to take the week off and spend some time with my family or husband because as a newly-wed, I shouldn't be working my ass off. What confuses me most is that... why would Bercare if I even work my ass off? He has never cared.

"Why do you think that Ben wants to suddenly cover my shift for the whole week?" I ask, looking at him as he places one hand on his lap while the other on the steering wheel.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

He glances at my direction for a few second, "I don't know. He maybe wants to return the favour," He replies, avoiding any further eye contact; leaving me to stare at him, finding him a little bit weird.

"You're probably right," I mutter. "But... knowing Ben, he wouldn't just come to work and meet me in a rush to tell me that I should take the week off. He's the kind of guy that would actually ask me to cover his shifts more often than to let me rest," I think, deeply. "Well... it's a good thing he did," He replies after a few seconds of silence which causes me to leave the conversation to an end instead of going further.

The whole ride continues to remain

silent without anyone starting a new conversation. It seems to be awkward, sitting in the car and jus listening to nothing but the sound of our own heartbeats. So, I praised the Lord when Aidan pulls to a stop near a familiar family home, to instantly see the sight of a beautiful one.

Memories of Aidan and I running around the yard when we were kids began to play in my head, letting me remember back the fun moment we used to have. We were just full of life, free of problems and very happy of everything we had but now, there's just moments where I feel like I want to escape reality.

I wonder, why did I even bother growing up?

"Here we are," Diana says at the back as she opens the door, "Let's head inside. Mia, help your brother and Kenna with their bags." She adds, stepping out of the car to only walk straight inside the house, leaving the door slightly ajar.

"Just head inside, Mia. I'll handle the bags," Aidan replies as he looks up at the rear-view mirror, earning a nod from her as she walks away.

Within seconds, I feel Aidan turning to look at me without saying a single word while I take my time to recall all of the memories. There's just something about being here and taking a deep breath as we look at every spot to find different, memorable memories-worthy enough to remember for a lifetime.

"I'm glad that you decided to come," He says.

I turn to face him, "There's just something about this place. I can't stop looking at it without remembering back the things we did," I reply, looking straight into his brown eyes and see him doing the same; leaving us staring at one another.

"It feels strange, doesn't it?"

"No... it oddly feels like home," I

respond with a slight smile

ha

appearing on my face, leaving me to e

turn and gaze back at the

house-king how Aidan and I have the purest friendship ever. We've seen our worst and our besto..

never once did we want to end whatever we have. There's no other friendships out there than can

defeat ours.

"So, we're having a deep conversation in a rental car in front of my family home?" He raises an eyebrow, instantly causes me to chuckle in which he joins afterwards. "Where else would we be having a deep conversation?" I ask.