Chapter Eleven

AIDEN

She was in my room.

Solana Martinez was in my room.

The girl I’ve had a crush on since the first semester.

The girl I never thought I’d ever have a real conversation with—let alone find sitting on my bed.

And now that she’s gone, it almost feels like I imagined it.

I exhale, running a hand through my hair, still standing in the same spot like an idiot.

I don’t even know how long I stay there, staring at the door she just walked out of, my heart still hammering from the way she looked at me.

Because that’s what’s messing me up the most.

And she smiled.

I sit down heavily on the edge of my bed, gripping the back of my neck, trying to wrap my head around what just happened.

Solana has always been beautiful—so beautiful that the word itself feels like a damn understatement.

She walks into a room and it’s like nothing else exists but her.

That long black hair, those striking blue eyes—she doesn’t even have to try to catch attention.

But it’s never just been about that.

There’s something else about her.

Something quiet.

Something guarded.

I see it in class, when she keeps to herself, head down, only ever speaking when she has to. I see it when people talk about her, but she never talks to anyone.

And I see it when she’s with him.

Her boyfriend.

Tyler Matthews.

My stomach twists at the thought.

I know my place. I know she’s his.

But for those few minutes in this room, she wasn’t.

For those few minutes, she was just Solana.

And I was me.

I let out a slow breath, shaking my head. I need to stop.

I stand up, but before I can take a step, my phone buzzes in my pocket.

I pull it out, already knowing who it is.

Mia. My annoying little sister.

I sigh and answer. “If you’re calling to laugh at me—”

“I’m calling to tell you that you’re a complete idiot,” she interrupts. “A cowardly idiot.”

I groan. “Mia—”

“Tell me you at least asked for her number.”

I rub my temple, shutting my eyes. “…No.”

A long pause.

“You’re hopeless.”

I let out a groan, flopping back onto my bed. “Mia, I wasn’t gonna ask for her number.”

“You had the perfect chance,” she huffs. “She was literally in your room, Aiden.”

“Yeah, and?” I rub my face. “You seriously think I was gonna be like, ‘Hey, Solana, I know you have a boyfriend and we barely talk, but mind if I get your number real quick?’”

“Yes!” Mia snaps. “Because she talked to you. She wasn’t rolling her eyes or trying to leave, right? And if she lingered, that, my dear, oblivious brother, means something.”

I sit up, gripping my phone tighter. “You don’t know that.”

“I do, actually. Because I’m not a coward.”

I groan again. “Mia—”

“Whatever. It’s fine. You’ll see her in class, and when you do, you’re gonna grow a spine and talk to her again.”

I hesitate. “And say what?”

Mia sighs, like she’s running out of patience. “I don’t know, Aiden. Maybe, ‘Hey, Solana, remember me? The guy whose room you were in?’”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I hate you.”

“No, you love me. Stop being a wuss.”

I shake my head, staring at the ceiling. “It doesn’t matter, okay?”

Mia scoffs. “What do you mean it doesn’t matter? You’ve been talking about this girl since forever. If I had a dollar for every time you brought up ‘Solana Martinez,’ I’d be rich enough to drop out of high school right now.”

I groan, my face burning. “I do not talk about her that much.”

Mia snorts. “Oh, please. ‘Mia, she’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.’ ‘Mia, she quoted Hemingway once, and I think I stopped breathing.’ ‘Mia, she has these really sad but beautiful eyes, and I just wanna—’”

“Okay, I get it.” I groan, dragging a hand down my face.

She’s laughing now, full-on enjoying my misery.

But then she quiets, her voice softer. “Look… all I’m saying is, maybe she needs someone who actually sees her.”

My chest tightens.

Because I do.

I see Solana.

Not just the way she looks, even though, yeah—she’s beautiful.

But the way she always sits in the same spot in class, half-hidden, like she doesn’t want to take up space. The way she tucks her hair behind her ear when she’s concentrating. The way she hesitates before she speaks, like she’s waiting for someone to tell her she shouldn’t.

I see her.

“…I’ll talk to her in class,” I mumble, finally giving in.

Mia gasps dramatically. “Did I just hear progress?”

“Bye, Mia.”

She cackles as I hang up.

I toss my phone aside and stare at the ceiling again, the faint buzz of the party outside my door feeling a million miles away.

I think about Solana. About the way she smiled at me. About how, for just a second, she seemed… lighter.

Maybe Mia’s right.

Maybe I should talk to her.

Because if no one else is willing to see her…

I will.

~~~~~~

The house is quieter now, the music still playing but softer, the energy shifting as the party winds down. I step over a couple passed-out guys on the floor and make my way downstairs.

Nick is slumped on the couch, his head tilted back, eyes barely open. He looks wasted.

Shaking my head, I grab a bottle of water from the kitchen and walk over to him, nudging his arm. “Here, man. Drink.”

Nick groans, shifting slightly before cracking one eye open. “Ugh… what?”

“Water,” I say, pressing the bottle into his hand. “You need it.”

He stares at it like I just handed him something unfamiliar, then takes it with a heavy sigh. “You’re too responsible for your own good, Aiden.”

I smirk. “One of us has to be.”

Nick chuckles, taking a sip before rubbing his face. He looks like shit. “Good party though, right?”

I nod, leaning against the arm of the couch. “Yeah. Sure.”

Nick side-eyes me, his drunken brain somehow still sharp enough to notice something’s off. “You disappeared for a while.” He grins lazily. “Don’t tell me you finally got laid.”

I roll my eyes. “Shut up.”

He laughs, but then his eyes narrow slightly, like he’s putting pieces together. “Wait… you were upstairs, weren’t you?”

I tense for a second before masking it. “Yeah. Needed some air.”

“Bullshit.” He smirks, pointing at me with the water bottle. “You found a girl, didn’t you?”

I say nothing.

Because technically… he’s not wrong.

Nick squints at me like he’s trying to piece together a puzzle, but he’s too drunk to focus for more than five seconds. He takes another sip of water, then tilts his head. “So? Who was she?”

I shake my head. “No one.”

He groans. “Come on, man. You’re always so damn secretive. I thought we were past that.”

I exhale, running a hand through my hair. “It’s not like that.”

Nick raises an eyebrow, his smirk widening. “Oh, so there was someone.”

I don’t answer.

Because I don’t need to.

Nick knows me too well. He’s seen me crush on girls from a distance before, too nervous to actually do anything about it. But this is different.

Because she isn’t just some girl to me.

She’s—

Nick nudges me with his foot. “Earth to Aiden? You just zoned out like a total creep.”

I blink, shaking off the memory. “Shut up, dude.”

He grins. “You must like her.”

I glance away. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?”

Because she has a boyfriend. Because she’s off-limits. Because no matter how much I like her, she’ll never look at me the way I look at her.

Instead of saying any of that, I just mutter, “It’s complicated.”

Nick groans. “Ugh, whatever, man. You always overthink shit. Just shoot your shot.”

I let out a dry laugh. “Yeah. Sure.”

Like it’s that easy.

Like she isn’t already taken.

Nick doesn’t press further, probably too drunk to keep up the conversation. He leans his head back against the couch, closing his eyes. “Wake me up if I die,” he mumbles.

I roll my eyes. “Not how that works, idiot.”

But he’s already half-asleep, the water bottle slipping from his grasp.

I sit there for a moment, my mind still spinning. The party is mostly over, but I feel restless, like I need to do something, go somewhere—except I have nowhere to go.

With a sigh, I push off the couch and head toward the door.

I need air.

And more than that…

I need to get Solana out of my head.

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