Aiden’s words hit me like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky, leaving me completely defenseless.

My mind went blank.

Despite the sweltering summer afternoon, I felt ice cold all over.

The conversation in the classroom continued. His friends fell silent for a moment before someone

spoke again.

“Classic Aiden, using the perfect girl as practice.”

“So what, she’s basically like his personal plaything?”

Aiden laughed carelessly. “Come on guys, it’s not like she didn’t enjoy it.”

Someone quickly agreed. “True that. Though she is kind of skinny compared to Madison’s curves…”

Aiden threw a textbook at him, cutting him off mid–sentence. “Look, we were both caught up in the moment. And she seemed pretty… eager.”

The guys exchanged knowing looks and started teasing him.

“Who knew Little Miss Perfect was so thirsty?”

“Can’t blame her our boy Aiden’s got game. Might as well take what’s offered.”

“After pining after you for so many years, bet she couldn’t wait to get her hands on you.”

The laughter in the room grew louder.

I bit my lip hard, my hands clenched into fists.

It took everything I had just to stay standing outside that classroom door.

Footsteps echoed from the end of the hallway.

I snapped back to reality and fled, stumbling into a bathroom stall to hide.

Tears of heartbreak and humiliation streamed down my face.

Aiden’s words echoed in my head, each syllable destroying what was left of my self–worth.

If I hadn’t heard it myself, I wouldn’t have believed the guy who’d passionately made love to me last night could be the same person. I guess you don’t need love to be intimate. Even in those moments of intense passion, lies can still fall from your lips.

What I foolishly thought was the start of something real was just a joke to them.

The more I cried, the worse I felt, trying to muffle my sobs as my body shook.

After what felt like forever, my phone buzzed.

Aiden: [Take an Uber home. Got plans with the guys tonight, can’t drive you.]

I didn’t respond.

Aiden: [Don’t forget to get Plan B yourself, I’m busy today. Make sure you take it, k?]

I stared at the messages, speechless.

Last night, from dusk till dawn, Aiden had been insatiable. Before we fell asleep exhausted in each other’s arms, he’d drowsily whispered twice: “Sorry I wasn’t more prepared. I’ll get you Plan B first thing tomorrow.”

He’d even lectured me about taking care of myself, insisting I needed to take the pill to protect my

health.

Back then, I thought he was being responsible. I thought I’d finally found my happiness.

And now…

Reality hit me like a bucket of cold water.

I dug my nails into my palms, forcing myself to stop crying. After cleaning myself up, I left the bathroom.

Too embarrassed to go to the pharmacy, I ordered Plan B online. Even then, I waited forever after the delivery driver left it at my door before sneaking out to get it.

After swallowing the pill through tears, I collapsed onto my carpet, completely drained.

Ever since Aidén’s family moved next door, I’d followed him around like a lost puppy – for ten whole

years.

I’d never imagined a world without him in it. Never wanted to.

But now I had no choice.

Outside my window, city lights flickered on and off as evening settled in.

Time blurred until my best friend Maya’s FaceTime lit up my screen.

“Brooklyn, why aren’t you at the party with Aiden tonight? That girl Sarah from AP Lit showed up and she’s all over him. They’re making everyone uncomfortable.”

Maya flipped her camera around.

Through the dim corner of the VIP lounge, I watched Aiden and Madison pressed close together.

Madison wore a crop top and high–waisted jeans that highlighted her perfect figure. They’d created their own bubble, separate from everyone else, whispering intimately.

Even through the screen, their chemistry was undeniable.

My chest tightened painfully.

Just hours ago, Aiden said he wanted to pursue her. Clearly, he’d already succeeded.

When Madison drew “Push–ups” in Truth or Dare – where a guy had to do push–ups over a girl – Aiden volunteered instantly.

The crowd went wild.

Madison lay back on the couch, blushing. Aiden positioned himself above her, knocking out dozens of push–ups.

He was careful at first, maintaining distance. But on the last one – whether from exhaustion or

intention – he collapsed right on top of her.

The room erupted in screams and whistles.

Both their faces flushed red. Then, amid the chaos, Aiden leaned down and kissed her.

Their makeout session lasted three endless minutes.

I couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen, barely breathing, my heart being shredded to pieces.

I wanted to cry, but after this afternoon’s breakdown, I had no tears left.

“Damn girl, you see that? They’re literally perfect together,” Maya said, before taking her phone to a quiet corner. “Brooklyn, I’m sorry, but you needed to see this. You wouldn’t have moved on

otherwise.”

My voice came out raw. “Yeah. Thanks.”

I had only myself to blame. For years, I’d thought being allowed to stay by Aiden’s side meant that space was mine.

“I’m just so mad at him,” Maya continued. “He knew how you felt all these years, but he played

innocent and let you fall deeper and deeper. After what you saw tonight, please don’t let him waste

another four years of your life in college…”

“He won’t,” I cut her off quietly.

“I’ve made my decision. I’m going to Stanford with you.

But Maya, promise me you’ll keep it secret for now.”

To silence any second thoughts, I opened my laptop right there on FaceTime with Maya.

Without hesitation, moments before the midnight deadline, I logged into the Common App portal and changed my acceptance from Columbia to Stanford. The cursor hovered over the “Confirm Change” button for just a second before I clicked, watching my future transform with a single mouse

click.

Maya was ecstatic, practically bouncing off her bed. She’d been begging me since junior year to join

her at Stanford, painting pictures of California sunshine and Silicon Valley dreams.

Back in freshman year, Aiden and I had made a promise over late–night study sessions and shared dreams. We’d work hard, ace our SATS, and head to Columbia together. The aerospace engineering program there had been his dream since the day his dad took him to the Air & Space Museum when

we were twelve.

Even though I never loved the idea of harsh New York winters or felt particularly drawn to Columbia’s engineering focus, I’d spent three years of high school making it my goal. Every AP class,

every SAT prep session, every extracurricular -all carefully chosen to match Columbia’s requirements. I’d even joined the robotics club just because Aiden said it would look good on our applications.

After being neighbors for so long, both our families had already pictured our future together. His mom would invite me over for Sunday dinners, talking about how nice it would be to have both of us at Columbia, casually mentioning all her friends whose children had found their soulmates during freshman orientation. Everyone, including me, thought Aiden and I would naturally become a couple after graduation – the perfect high school sweetheart story.

Now, I couldn’t find a single reason to go to Columbia anymore. The thought of walking those same

campus paths with him, sharing classes, running into him and Madison at the library or campus

coffee shops – it made me physically ill. Or rather, after today, if I kept trailing after Aiden like his

faithful shadow, I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror.

I just needed to get as far away as possible. Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA – anywhere would do, as long as he wasn’t there. The entire West Coast suddenly seemed like the perfect escape.

If he was going to the East Coast, then I’d head West. Three thousand miles and three time zones felt

like a good start to forgetting the last six years of my life.

That night, I filled the bathtub to the brim with scalding water, watching steam rise in thick clouds. I desperately wanted to wash away every trace of the past twenty–four hours, as if enough hot water could somehow cleanse my soul along with my skin.

But as I undressed in front of the bathroom mirror, the purple–blue marks scattered across my skin told their own story. Love bites on my neck, fingerprint bruises on my hips – each one a reminder I couldn’t erase. The bruises weren’t ready to fade, just like the memories.

Last night came flooding back uninvited – the burning heat of his skin against mine, his passionate breathing against my ear, the way he’d whispered my name in the dark. The ghost of his touch still lingered everywhere, like phantom hands tracing patterns across my body. The warmth of his chest pressed against my back, his fingers intertwined with mine – memories I wanted to forget but

couldn’t seem to shake.

I shook my head violently, grabbing the sides of the sink until my knuckles turned white, trying to shake away these fragments of madness. These moments that meant everything to me and nothing

to him.

Grabbing my roughest loofah, I scrubbed and scrubbed until my skin turned angry red. My arms, my neck, my chest – anywhere his lips had been. As if I could somehow erase what had become the most humiliating memory of my life. The physical pain felt almost good, like maybe it could

overshadow the ache in my chest.

The raw, stinging pain kept me tossing and turning all night. Every position hurt – my skin too sensitive, my body remembering touches I was trying to forget.

Aiden didn’t text, of course. For the first time in six years, since we got our first iPhones in middle school, there was no “goodnight” message. No inside joke about his calculus homework. No stupid TikTok he thought would make me laugh. No heart emoji that I used to analyze for hours. Just deafening silence.

Better this way.

It had to end sometime.

Might as well start detoxing tonight.

I drifted in and out of consciousness until dawn approached, finally falling into an uneasy sleep somewhere between counting sheep and counting mistakes.

Just as morning light began filtering through my curtains, I felt what seemed like a gentle kiss on my forehead, so real it startled me from my dreams. For a moment, my heart stopped, thinking he might have used his spare key to check on me like he sometimes did before school.

I jerked awake to find that familiar jaw and throat above me.

His scent enveloped me – that cedar cologne he loved, now mixed with a faint trace of unfamiliar

citrus. Probably Madison’s perfume.

I’d almost forgotten Aiden knew my door code.

Seeing I was awake, he leaned down with that cocky smile, trying to kiss me.

I panicked, turning my head away and shoving him back, scrambling to the other side of my bed.

“Playing shy now? After last night?” he chuckled.

I stayed silent, pulling the comforter over my head.

He started tugging at it. “Really, Brooklyn? No goodnight text and your phone off? Since when do you ghost me?”

Before I could stop him, he slipped under the covers and pulled me against him.

“Come on, we’ve talked about skipping breakfast. I went on an early run just to get those chocolate croissants from that French bakery you love. Waited in line forever.” His voice dropped lower. “Though we could always… work up an appetite first…”

His breath was hot on my skin, his hands starting to wander.

Finally coming to my senses, I struggled against him. But at 5’4“, I was no match for his 6’2” frame.

I couldn’t understand why he was even here. He had Madison now – why couldn’t he just leave me

alone?

“What’s wrong? Mad I didn’t take you to the party? That’s what this is about?”

I remained silent.

He buried his face in my neck, laughing. “Let me guess – Maya snitched about the party games? It was just Truth or Dare, babe. Why are you so jealous? You’ve always been like this – getting all moody whenever I talk to other girls.”

Fury surged through me. Remembering that self–defense class, I drove my knee up between his legs and bolted from the bed when he doubled over.

“Brooklyn!” he growled through clenched teeth, face red with pain.

I grabbed a hoodie to cover my pajamas and fled to the living room. I couldn’t be in my bedroom with him. Not anymore.

He followed shortly after, looking both angry and exasperated.

After a long pause, he asked casually, “You took the Plan B, right? We can’t have any… accidents. Our

parents would freak.”

He picked up a boba tea from the table and held it out. “Come on, drink something. You know your

stomach gets upset when you skip meals.”

I didn’t move or speak.

His arm stayed extended until his patience snapped.

“What’s your problem? You can’t throw a tantrum without a reason, Brooklyn.”

“I don’t deserve this,” I whispered.

He slammed the drink down so hard the plastic split, tea spilling across the carpet.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Who do you think you are? We hook up once and suddenly you think you own me? You’re suffocating me!”

His voice had never been so harsh.

Instantly, tears streamed down my face, yesterday’s humiliation and pain flooding back.

Aiden seemed startled by my reaction, suddenly awkward.

“Sorry, I was drunk last night. I shouldn’t have snapped.”

He crouched beside me, reaching to wipe my tears, but I flinched away.

He froze, hand suspended mid–air.

His phone buzzed. One glance at the screen and his expression changed completely.

“I have to go. Cool off, okay? We’re starting college soon – you need to grow up. No one likes drama.”

Less than thirty minutes after Aiden left, Maya sent me a screenshot.

It was Madison’s Instagram post: “Perfect morning Say you’re hungry and your crush magically appears with breakfast. I think this might be turning into something real… ?”

The photo showed the exact same box of chocolate croissants from my kitchen table.

I didn’t reply.

Just silently wiped my tears and knelt down to clean up the spilled boba tea. After scrubbing forever, I realized with frustration that the stain had soaked deep into the wool carpet fibers. It wasn’t

coming out.

In a burst of anger, I rolled up the entire carpet and threw it away. It was the one Aiden and his parents had spent an entire afternoon picking out in Nepal and carried back as a gift anyway.

While I was at it, I gathered everything Aiden had left at my house, plus every gift he’d ever given me. Even all our photos together – from prom pictures to casual selfies – went into garbage bags.

–

It took all day to pack up and throw away six years of memories. Not like he’d want any of this stuff

anyway.

After that day, I didn’t hear from him for days. Things must be going well with Madison. Or maybe he was waiting for me to cave first – like I always did during our fights, without exception.

But this time, I didn’t reach out.

There was no point anymore.

I blocked him on everything – Instagram, Snapchat, texts, calls. Changed my door code. Deactivated

all my social media accounts.

After that purge, I called my parents who were away on business. Told them I wanted to spend the

summer with Aunt Claire in Boston.

My plan was to stay there until fall, then head straight to Stanford with Maya. Besides her, no one

knew I’d switched schools.

This way, I could perfectly avoid any chance of running into Aiden.

Mom teased me on the phone: “Ooh, planning a romantic summer getaway with Aiden?”

I made up some excuse, not wanting to explain. Just said I missed Aunt Sarah and Grandma.

Begged Dad to book me on the next available flight – I needed to leave tonight.

But as I was heading out, I ran into Aiden’s mom by our driveways.

“Brooklyn, sweetie! Where’s Aiden? Isn’t he taking you to Aspen for skiing? He mentioned planning a special trip – you have my full blessing!”

I was confused.

During senior year finals, I had mentioned wanting to go skiing in Aspen, dreaming about a winter

getaway.

But given everything, a romantic trip seemed ridiculous now.

Running late for my flight, I mumbled some excuse and hurried off.

What I didn’t expect was to see Aiden himself at the airport.

He was with a group of friends. Madison was there too.

Aiden carried her designer bag in one hand while his other arm wrapped around her waist. They walked at the back of the group..

Whenever Madison wanted to tell him something, she’d lean in close, and he’d attentively bend

down to listen.

Not like with us.

Aiden had always been taller than me, growing more so every year. I always had to bounce on my tiptoes, craning my neck just to talk to him.

I guess for someone he actually cares about, he makes the effort to meet them halfway.

I took a deep breath.

Told myself to show some dignity. His life wasn’t my business anymore – I’d slap myself if I kept overthinking this.

But there seemed to be only one path to the gates.

I had no choice but to trail far behind them.

Finally, we reached a fork in the terminal.

Aiden started getting antsy.

He made several calls that went unanswered, then spent ages staring at his phone. Finally, he borrowed a friend’s phone and headed toward the restrooms, looking stormy.

Moments later, my phone rang – unknown number.

“Brooklyn, you’re really committed to this silent treatment, huh? Won’t even reach out unless I make

the first move?

And blocking me? Real mature.

Good luck keeping this up. Let’s see how you handle Columbia alone when you don’t know anyone there.”

Aiden’s tone was harsh as he laid into me.

I stayed silent there was nothing to say.

This only seemed to anger him more.

“Whatever. Just unblock me on Instagram already.

I’m heading overseas with friends for a couple days, might be hard to reach. Don’t want you crying

because you can’t get hold of me.”

I couldn’t even bother giving him a single word.

Just hung up and turned off my phone.

From a distance, I watched him storm back to the group. He grabbed Madison’s hand and headed

left toward their gate without hesitation.

I sighed, turned right, and walked away.