"But I want to make it up to you." He didn't want his own issues getting in the way of them, even though it seemed like they already had. "Please?" He smiled, trying to look as convincing as he could, giving her a quick kiss for good measure.
Cole tried to retain his composure, but talking about it all over again was making it difficult, and he finally just stopped walking altogether. "Yeah." He shrugged halfheartedly. "I had to get my bathtub removed, and I have... I have his bones in my closet. Someone had to keep them, and I wanted to be the one who did." The worst part was remembering everything, how Aaron had reacted when he realized he was dead, the utter hopelessness he'd displayed. "I wasn't there again, Ileana, and I won't be there next time either. Aaron is going to keep coming back and there's nothing I can do. He didn't even remember dying - he didn't..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I never wanted to tell you because... well, it's bad enough that Micah was involved. You don't need to know things like this." She didn't need to know that this wasn't the first time, either. No - he'd never tell anyone about Sam and what they'd done. That, at least, was a secret he would take to the grave.