Page 17 of We May Be Fractured

Date Night

[Now playing ? loneliness for love—lovelytheband]

O ver the next week, Aaron found himself slipping into a surprisingly comfortable routine.

His days kicked off with a morning run, followed by a hearty breakfast, and then it was off to work in Camden Town. Lunch breaks with Fell and Landon were always a bit of a giggle, full of banter and hilarious stories, and dinners with Nyle were just as fun.

But his favourite times were the Tube rides with Landon.

Unlike Nyle and Fell, Landon didn’t feel the need to fill every silence, something Aaron appreciated. He often found social interactions draining, but the time spent in Landon’s company recharged him.

They weren’t exactly ‘mates’—Landon had made that pretty clear—but things were getting easier between them.

It was all right, actually. Even in their quiet moments on the Tube, Aaron started noticing things about Landon that drew him in.

For one, they shared a similar taste in punk and rock music, although Landon’s liking for Taylor Swift surprised Aaron. During their commutes, Landon was always absorbed in a book, its cover torn off. Aaron tried to sneak peeks, but the title remained a mystery.

“Why doesn’t your book have a cover?” Aaron asked that morning on their way to Camden Town.

Landon closed the book with a swift motion and held it up for Aaron to see. “Can you guess what it is now?”

“Nope.”

“Exactly,” Landon said with a slight smile.

Aaron thought maybe the book had got messed up, with spilled coffee or something. But clearly, Landon had ripped the cover off on purpose. “You’re a savage,” Aaron accused playfully.

Landon’s sweet tooth had also caught Aaron’s attention.

Landon frequently shared snacks like biscuits and chocolates with Fell, who indulged him with an almost uncle-like affection. In some ways, Fell reminded Aaron of Aunt Olivia. One minute, he was all chill, and the next, he’d drop in some serious life advice.

Just a few minutes earlier, Fell had shared his thoughts about songs from artists who were no longer around, yet left an indelible mark on the world.

He spoke about how, through their art and memories, they continue to live on.

That made Aaron reflect on how much of Tori still lived within him and his desire to carry forward her dreams.

He could see why Landon liked him.

But those two could not be any more different.

Fell, a big extrovert, would chat up anyone and everyone, making friends left, right, and centre.

Customers would wander in, aimlessly browsing, and before they knew it, they’d be spilling their guts to Fell.

But they rarely bought anything. Fell, for all his friendliness, wasn’t exactly smashing it as a shop owner.

The guy was super laid-back, maybe too much so.

He’d spend hours chilling in the shop, either lost in a book, playing Pokémon, or deep into videos about brewing his own beer.

He knew his stuff when it came to music, though, and even got Aaron hooked on some old-school vinyl, educating him about the legendary bands from back in the day.

But when it came to the shop itself, Fell didn’t seem all that fussed.

As Aaron rummaged through a pile of vinyl records, his curiosity won over. “Why run this place if it’s not your thing?”

Fell put his book down and leaned back. “It was my dad’s shop.

Didn’t mean much to me until he was gone, and it ended up being mine.

It’s less about making sales here—online does well enough for that.

It’s more for the vibe, the memories, and talking music with folks who get it.

I used to dream about being a rockstar, had a band and everything, but it didn’t work out.

So now, I’m here, selling the dream in a different way. ”

Aaron’s interest increased. “You were in a band? Are you on Spotify?”

Fell chuckled, shaking his head. “Yeah, we’re on there, but I’m not about to spill the beans on that.”

“I’ll ask Landon, then,” Aaron teased.

“Not even he knows. Kept that part of my life under wraps.”

“So, are you, like, famous, then? Would I have heard of you?”

“Who knows?” Fell replied, turning back to his book.

*

O n Thursday, after a very quiet day at RPM, right around closing time, an unexpected visitor came in.

“Heya,” a voice called out cheerily as they stepped through the door.

Aaron, turning, instantly recognised Ria in a long dress that reached her calves, her bright smile lighting up the room. “Hey, what brings you here?”

“Just swinging by to say hi,” she replied, her eyes sparkling. “Landon mentioned you’d started working at the shop with Fell. Had to see it for myself. We’ve been nagging him for ages to get some help.”

Ria’s gaze wandered over the shop, her fingers lightly trailing along the rows of neatly organised albums. “This is amazing. It’s like a whole new place.”

Aaron shrugged modestly, gesturing towards a sizable pile of items near the counter. “Still loads to sort out though.”

“Looks to me like you’ve made a cracking start.”

“I’ve been his guide,” Fell declared, pushing himself up from his chair with a hint of pride. It was the first time he’d gotten up that morning. As he moved towards Ria, he stumbled slightly, his legs probably numb from sitting too long.

Standing beside her, Fell had to bend his head down nearly a foot to make eye contact, the height difference between them remarkable. Even Ria’s platform high-tops did little to bridge the gap.

“Here for a date with Landon?” Fell asked with a casual air.

Ria nodded. Surprise flicked through Aaron.

He’d noticed that Landon and Ria were friendly, but the thought of them being an item hadn’t crossed his mind until now.

It nagged at him as he’d pegged Landon as someone who, much like himself, wasn’t into the whole dating or sex scene.

Or was it the idea of them being together that bothered him more?

Just then, Landon walked in. “Hey,” he greeted everyone with a casual wave.

Ria spun around, her smile blooming at the sight of Landon.

Though they seemed polar opposites, Landon and Ria balanced each other. Landon was like a cloud on a sunny day with Ria, the ray that could pierce through it, chasing off even the gloomiest spaces.

Landon’s eyes flicked between Aaron and Fell. “All right, catch you guys tomorrow,” he said.

Aaron’s stomach twisted as he watched Landon and Ria head out together. Why did it bother him so much?

He shook his head to clear his mind and finished arranging the last albums. He was ready to go home and hole up in the quiet of his room to watch a series.

*

A aron pushed the door open to Nyle and Luzanne’s raised voices booming down the corridor. He froze at the entrance. The echoes of their argument bounced off the walls, not just of the house but within his mind as well. Soon, their shouts morphed into the all-too-familiar shouts of his parents.

Aaron closed his eyes and slid down to the floor, back in that house again, a scared little kid with hands pressed over his ears, trying to block out the yelling from the kitchen. It was always the kitchen.

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

He tried to get a grip, to remind himself he wasn’t that kid anymore, no longer stuck in that house. But he couldn’t stop shaking, and try as he might, he couldn’t tune out the sounds of the ongoing argument down the corridor.

“…and why should I put my love life on hold ’cause Landon gets ticked off? That normal to you?” Luzanne said, her frustration obvious.

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Nyle shot back, his tone high but less confrontational.

“Then what are you saying? You always take his side. How many more times are you gonna bail him out?”

“Stop, it’s not like that. I’m not defending him.”

“Oh really?” Luzanne shouted back sarcastically. “Then explain how you both ended up doing community service together?”

“It was both our fault.”

“Bullshit. You took the fall to keep him out of jail again. Maybe he should’ve gone back.”

“You don’t mean that,” Nyle said, wavering.

“I do. My love life’s a mess because of him. He even threatened to break Jean’s hand the other day just for wanting to braid my hair after I said no. Now Jean’s terrified of him.”

“It’s his way of being a protective brother,” Nyle said, trying to reason.

“Brother? Landon doesn’t know the first thing about being a brother .”

“And after everything, can you blame him?”

“Don’t start with that. He’s been this way forever, even after coming back home. Not even two days in, he hit Mom’s boyfriend.”

“Do you really wanna defend that drunkard? Landon was right to step in.”

“What about my ex, then? Did he deserve a beating too?”

Aaron, unable to stand the shouting any longer, abruptly stood to leave. But in his rush, he got all tangled up in the coats and bags hanging by the door. The whole lot came tumbling to the floor with a clatter.

“Oh, shit…Aaron,” Nyle blurted out from the corridor, obviously taken aback.

Aaron sidestepped the pile of clothing and ran back out the front door.

He had to get away as soon as possible. So, he ran aimlessly through the streets, passing shops and people, until he reached the riverside. The biting cold wind against his skin soothed him, helping shake off the awful memories clinging to him like sticky sweat.

Before he knew it, he’d run a fair distance and ended up in front of a familiar sign by the Greenwich meridian, pointing across the river towards Canary Wharf.

The sign read Here 24,859 , indicating the miles needed to circle the globe and return to that very spot. Aaron wished he could travel twice that distance if only it meant having Tori back by his side.

“I love you 24,859,” she’d said once as they passed the sign.

“Only that much?” he had asked her, disappointed she’d put a number on it.

“It’s not little. It means that my love can travel huge distances but will always find its way back to you.”