Once inside the condo, both men began to climb the stairs in a comfortable silence, the sound of their footsteps being the only sound that could be heard.
"How was your game?" Hector asked toward Aaron while they climbed the steps.
"How do you know I played a game?" was Aaron's question this time toward Hector, not knowing how he had found out if he hadn't seen him at the court.
"If you hadn't played a game, you wouldn't come home this early," was the simple answer Hector gave Aaron, knowing the boy well.
"You have a point," Aaron said, then put a more serious expression on his face.
"What's going on between you and my aunt?" Aaron asked seriously, without taking his eyes off Hector.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Hector said, turning his head the other way as if the wall were suddenly more interesting than Aaron in front of him.
"My aunt is beautiful," Aaron began with his speech, being met by a subconscious nod from Hector. "And single," Aaron finished, making the look on Hector's face change as a bitter expression appeared on his face.
"I don't know what you're trying to say, kid," Hector began to say in a low voice in an attempt to intimidate Aaron.
"What I mean is that you should take your chance or you'll lose it," Aaron sentenced, without letting himself be intimidated by Hector as the vast majority of people did when facing a tough guy with tattoos.
At those words, Hector's brow furrowed while a thousand thoughts ran quickly through his mind.
"Do you think I have a chance?" a hesitant Hector finally asked in a low voice.
That simple question brought a slight laugh to Aaron because, while Hector had the look of a biker leader, on the inside he was nothing more than a teddy bear.
He still remembered the way he met him a few years ago; it was when shopping with his aunt, Aaron got separated and lost among the stores until Hector approached and stood in front of him.
The first reaction of little Aaron back then was fear, imagining himself being trafficked to Mexico or having his organs removed to be sold on the black market.
But without a doubt, what Aaron least expected was that the guy simply asked him if he was lost and needed help while giving him what he believed was his least threatening smile.
At that moment, Aaron realized again that people should not be judged based solely on their appearance and began to tell Hector everything while he listened calmly and extended a friendly hand to help him look for his aunt.
That would have been a touching moment if it hadn't been that once he took Hector's hand, Paola appeared at that very moment and, before Aaron could even speak, she landed a right hook on Hector's face.
To Aaron's incredulity, he saw how Hector fell to one side and took his hand to his face while Paola didn't stop talking against him, cursing him in both English and Spanish.
All this while she had Aaron's face buried in her chest, trying to calm him quickly and telling him that everything was going to be fine.
Taking his face out of both "deadly weapons" in search of oxygen, Aaron began to quickly explain the situation, letting his aunt know that Hector simply wanted to help him find the security area so they could look for her.
After that, a look of embarrassment appeared on Paola as she quickly turned toward Hector, who was still on the ground, and began to apologize quickly for the blow she had thrown seconds before.
Without getting an answer, both saw how Hector remained on the ground with his hand still on his face while his eyes wouldn't stop being fixed on Paola, who, together with the sun rays coming through the glass ceiling of the mall, made her look like an angel fallen from heaven.
After that, and reacting, Hector stood up and began to say that it was nothing to worry about, that he had received worse blows, while Paola kept apologizing over and over again.
Coming out of his memories, Aaron said, "She called you to help her, right?" was Aaron's simple response to Hector's question, who released the air he didn't know he was holding in his lungs.
"But," Aaron began to say, "if you hurt her or play with her, you'll have to deal with me," Aaron finished saying while putting a serious expression on his face and trying to give his best intimidating look to Hector.
"HAHAH," Hector couldn't help but laugh at Aaron's attempt at intimidation, which to him seemed anything but threatening in the least.
"When you have hair on your face, we'll talk about your attempt at intimidation," Hector finished saying, trying to hold back his laughter at Aaron's face as much as he could.
That simple comment was a blow to Aaron's pride upon seeing how his attempt at intimidation didn't give the result he sought.
"Don't worry," Hector said suddenly toward Aaron. "I have no intention of playing with her," Hector finished saying once they reached the apartment floor and Hector began to knock on Paola's door.
As soon as he knocked on the door, it was quickly opened by a Paola who had clearly been waiting on the other side, giving a smile to the man in front of her.
"Hector," Paola said with a smile while moving a lock of her hair toward the man in front of her.
At that gesture, Hector couldn't help but swallow saliva subconsciously, which did not go unnoticed at all by Paola, which brought a smile to her face.
"Aunt," said Aaron, who was standing behind Hector and finally being noticed by Paola.
"I thought you were with your friend at the court," Paola said toward her nephew, checking the time and seeing that it was too early for him to even return from training.
"We played a game with other guys and then Drew had to go home," Aaron explained while looking more closely at his aunt. "Did you change your clothes?" Aaron asked, seeing that his aunt was indeed wearing a new set of clothes.
If Paola in the morning wore simple denim jeans with a worn shirt, now she was wearing a dress that accentuated all her curves in the right places and made her chest stand out even more, which, together with some high heels, made her look like a person ready to walk a runway.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Paola said distractedly while giving a death stare to her nephew, who wisely stayed quiet, knowing he shouldn't mess with his aunt when she gave him that look.
"I'll leave you then," Aaron said quickly, opening his front door and entering, leaving the two adults outside doing whatever they were doing.
"I hope you take your chance, Hector," Aaron thought, leaning against the apartment door, knowing that if his aunt dressed that way, it was clear she had an interest in the big guy out there.
Shaking his head and going further into the apartment, Aaron threw himself on the living room sofa and began to think about what to do to kill time.
Decided to grab the remote control and look for anything to watch on TV, he was interrupted by his cell phone, which began to ring, signaling that he had just received a message.
Picking up his cell phone and unlocking the screen, a message appeared.
Meghan: what are you doing?
Having nothing better to do and thinking nothing would happen, Aaron began to reply.
Aaron: nothing important and you?
Without losing a second, Meghan's reply arrived seconds later as if she were waiting for Aaron to answer her.
Meghan: Thinking about you ;)
Was what Meghan wrote to him followed by a wink.
At that, Aaron couldn't help but think how fast things were going with Meghan; not knowing what to write, he simply wrote a simple:
Aaron: Ok
Believing that would be the end of the conversation, he heard his phone ring again, a sign that he had received a new message from Meghan.
Meghan: I also managed to make the school cheerleading team :)
At that abrupt change of subject, Aaron simply decided to write a short message of congratulations.
Aaron: good for you!!
Aaron typed while receiving a message faster than the previous one.
Meghan: we'll be able to spend more time together.
Was Meghan's reply, letting him know that they would indeed see each other more often at the season games and practices.
Aaron: I see.
Aaron wrote as briefly and shortly as possible, hoping that Meghan would catch the hint that he didn't want to talk much right now, but perhaps he expected too much because seconds later another message arrived.
Meghan: do you want to see me with the uniform on?
Meghan asked, trying to tempt Aaron more, who couldn't help but think of the photos he still had in the message chat of Meghan's costumes.
Shaking his head to clear those images that came to mind and calm down, Aaron decided he had had enough.
Aaron: maybe another time. Aaron: something came up, I have to go.
Finishing writing that message, Aaron decided to close the chat, hoping that now he could rest in peace and without worries, but the message sound rang again, making a vein of irritation form on his face.
Picking up the phone again, ready to silence it, he was surprised to read that the sender was not Meghan but Drew, so unlocking the phone, Aaron read the full message.
Drew: Dude, I can't feel my body :,(
Was the message Drew sent him, presumably from the subway on his way home.
Aaron: And? Aaron asked, not knowing what Drew wanted him to do.
Drew: Tomorrow we have school practice!!
Was Drew's quick response, making Aaron remember that indeed tomorrow practice for the season began.
The CHSAA game season began in December and ended in February, so in November, pre-season practices began and lineups were analyzed.
Aaron: You'll be fine.
Aaron typed quickly, not being entirely worried about tomorrow since the training was light and the game, while more demanding, they didn't play the full 3 games that were planned.
Drew: Tomorrow I won't even be able to get out of bed.
Was Drew's dramatic response, followed by what were crying emojis, at which Aaron couldn't help but sigh at how dramatic his friend could be sometimes.
Aaron: just take a cold water bath and sleep early and you'll be fine tomorrow.
Was the only advice Aaron could think to write while the rest depended on what Drew did.
Drew: I don't like cold water!!
He wrote with exclamation marks at the mere idea of bathing with cold water in the middle of autumn.
Aaron: It's up to you -_-
Aaron wrote followed by a blank face, then put his phone on silent to finally be able to rest without having to worry about future messages.
Grabbing the TV remote and seeing that it was still relatively early, Aaron began to search for anything to watch on television, changing the channel every few seconds.
Passing through news channels, cartoons, and celebrity gossip and scandals, Aaron passed quickly through each of those channels without being interested in any of those programs until suddenly his finger stayed still on the FOX channel, seeing the program they were airing.
The Simpsons.
An animated series for adults that was still running even in the year he died, a program that, although its ratings had dropped in the following decade, still remained on the air and had a very beloved community.
Finding nothing better to watch, Aaron left the remote and began to laugh at the antics of Bart and Homer.
Thus, Aaron spent Sunday afternoon like any teenager without a worry in the world while in the background Homer's iconic phrase was heard:
"Why you little ...!!"
Authors thought's
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Sorry if the previous update was in Spanish! There was a mix-up with the websites