Vacation (2)

The next morning, Derek shared the details of the things that had already been scheduled. He had made several reservations at famous and expensive restaurants, reserved a day cruise, and scheduled a helicopter tour of the islands. Other than that, everyone was free to do whatever they wanted for the remaining vacation time.

One of the reservations that was already made was for brunch that morning so they all got changed and headed out. The place they went to eat wasn't as fancy as where they had lunch the day before but the food was still delicious. After the meal, Lyla and Becca went shopping leaving a very unhappy Spencer with Aiden and Derek. The three of them went back to the villa.

Aiden searched on his laptop for a bunch of different things to do and eventually decided to head to the beach he and Derek had found. He changed into strappy swim bottoms, sandals, and a partially see-through cover-up before packing a bag with a towel, sunblock, his phone, and an underwater camera. Then, he headed for the door. Unfortunately, he was spotted by Spencer.

"Where the hell are you going dressed like that?" Aiden sighed and turned to face Spencer who had stood up from the couch with a scowl on his face.

"And why should I tell you that?" Spencer looked confused, like he hadn't expected to be questioned in return.

"That's…Shit! Just answer me!"

"Don't wanna." Aiden turned to leave but turned back around when he heard Derek's voice.

"Aiden, where are you going?" Aiden grinned and immediately answered.

"The beach we went to yesterday." Derek simply nodded and left.

"Why did you answer him and not me?!" Spencer shouted.

"Because I don't like you." With that, Aiden left the villa and headed down to the beach. He spent the rest of the day there exploring, swimming and taking pictures and videos. While he was swimming he saw turtles, dolphins, and schools of fish. It was amazing and he had taken several truly stunning underwater photographs.

When it started getting closer to dinner time, Aiden got out of the water and was drying off when he suddenly felt the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He spun around to look behind him but there was no one there. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Aiden quickly put on his sandals and cover-up, gathered his things, and started to walk back to the villa.

Several times he thought he heard something or someone rustling through the plants nearby but whenever he looked around, he saw no one. He tried to convince himself that it was just a bird or something similar and that even if it was a person they probably had nothing to do with him but in the back of his mind he felt it was strange somehow. After that, he walked a little bit faster back to the house. He only relaxed when he was inside and the door was locked.

"Why are you just coming back now and what in the world possessed you to go outside wearing something so exposing?!" Lyla's screeching voice was the first thing that greeted him. Aiden looked over and saw everyone at the dining table.

"I was swimming and lost track of time. Why do you even care anyway? It's not like we normally eat meals together."

"What about those clothes?"

"What about them?"

"Why are they so skimpy?!"

"Seriously? I just said I was swimming. What do you expect me to wear? A long sleeve turtleneck, a pair of pants, and a rain jacket?" Aiden asked sarcastically.

"That's…!" Whatever Lyla was going to say next was interrupted by Derek.

"Enough." Lyla was shocked and stared at him with her mouth hanging open but didn't continue speaking. "Aiden, you should go change and come eat dinner."

"Okay." Aiden went to his room and changed into pajama shorts and a tank top. Then he went back out to the table and sat down in the open seat next to Becca and across from Spencer. The dinner was progressing smoothly right up until the moment Becca knocked her elbow, intentionally of course, into the very hot cup of tea on the table between her and Aiden. The tea was flung from the fallen cup and Aiden wasn't fast enough to dodge all of it. He managed to move sideways and avoid having the tea fall directly in his lap but it still made contact with his left leg. He winced as he felt the pain of his skin burning and he rushed to the bathroom to cool it down. On his way out of the room, Aiden shouted at Becca.

"I know you did that on purpose you psychotic b****!" From the corner of his eye, Aiden could vaguely tell that Derek had also stood from his chair but at that moment he couldn't afford to care. When he got to the bathroom, he grabbed the shower head and turned on the water. He adjusted it as quickly as he could so it was mildly cool and not too cold and then ran it over his leg.

The area of his leg that the tea spilled on first was already red and swollen with tiny blisters appearing. There were also lines of reddish pink skin extending in different directions from where the tea ran down while he was moving. As he was trying to cool the burn, there was a knock on the door and Derek walked in.

"How bad is it?"

"Well, it's not great." Aiden sighed and Derek walked closer to see the extent of the injury.

"We should go to the hospital."

"What? No way. It's not that bad." Derek frowned and furrowed his brow.

"It's blistered. That means it's a second degree burn."

"They're tiny, tiny, blisters. They're hardly noticeable!"

"Aiden, you're going to the hospital. That's final." And that's exactly what happened. Derek called for a car and when it arrived he lifted Aiden into a princess- carry and took him to it.

"What are you doing?" Aiden gasped when his feet left the ground.

"I told you. We're going to the hospital."

"I know that! I mean, why are you carrying me?!"

"Walking will hurt more."

"I'm fine so put me down!"

"I will when we get to the car." The two of them argued until Aiden was placed gently into the backseat and Derek got in on the other side. The car drove off with Lyla and Becca glaring angrily after it.

The next few hours passed with Aiden getting treated at the hospital. Derek noticed that Aiden seemed used to it as if similar incidents had happened before. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Just how much have those people hurt Aiden?

The doctor that treated the burn said it was a minor second degree burn. They treated it with an antibiotic cream and bandaged it. They also said it would take about two weeks to fully heal and to keep an eye out for infection.

It was around midnight when they finally left the hospital and Aiden was exhausted. They were only in the car for a few minutes before Derek saw Aiden start to sway after falling asleep. Then, the car rounded a corner and he fell sideways. Derek quickly caught him and laid him down on the seat, letting Aiden use his lap for a pillow. He knew it wouldn't take long before they reached the villa and Aiden would get woken up but he wanted to let him sleep. In the end, Derek told the driver to just drive around for a while before taking them back.

Eventually though, they had to return and the car pulled up to the villa. Derek got out of the car and gently picked up Aiden who was thankfully still asleep. He carefully carried him to the door trying not to wake him up but his efforts were dashed when the door banged open and Lyla stepped out with exaggerated worry.

"Aiden! Oh, the poor thing! Is he okay?! What did the doctor say?" Her voice was far from quiet but by then it didn't matter.

"Hm?" Aiden squinted in the sudden light from inside the house and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "We're back?" Derek ignored Lyla and walked past her, headed for Aiden's room.

"We are. I'll take you to your room."

"I can walk."

"Forget it. It's faster this way." Derek set Aiden down in his bed and helped him with the blankets. As he was leaving, he heard Aiden mumble.

"Thank you." Then Derek closed the door and was going to go to his room but Lyla stopped him and immediately snapped at him.

"Why did you ignore me?! I asked you a question and…"

"It's 2am, your nephew was injured and we just got back from the hospital. Why would you not have the good sense to be quiet?"

"What? I was just worried that's all."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Derek's eyes were cold as he spoke.

"No. Why would you think…"

"Look that way." He pointed to the front door. Since the door was made of glass, it was see-through. When Derek was carrying Aiden inside, he was too preoccupied with trying not to wake Aiden so he didn't pay attention to the door but Lyla was another story. "With the outdoor lights on, you would have been able to clearly see that Aiden was asleep yet you come barreling out the door, shouting like a lunatic. Spare me the theatrics." Derek turned and walked away leaving Lyla in a rage.