little more until he said, “As long as you forgive me and promise to always be my best friend.”
It was that request that broke through the dark clouds in my world and brought me fully into the final stage of grief. If I were in a Disney movie, flowers would have bloomed and the birds would have started chirping.
Whether it was acceptance or hope or both, I knew that Aiden and I still loved each other. Things might be a little different between us now—no one heals without scars—but we were going to be okay. And if we could make it through this, we’d make it through anything.
Maybe now our relationship would be a healthy one. Maybe now we’d be able to have lives separate from one another and still be a part of each other. Maybe all of this needed to happen.
“I can do that,” I said.
“And you’re never allowed to have a birthday party without me ever again.”
I laughed. “Promise.”
Aiden let out a huge sigh of relief and leaned over to grab me up in a big hug. We held on tight, neither of us wanting to be the first to let go.
“Can you really forgive me?” Aiden asked, his voice thick with emotion.
I sniffled, but laughed at the same time. “I really can. I do.”
“I love you, Aves.”
“I love you too, Aiden.”
As we walked back to the car, I thought about how much my life had changed in the last few months. For the first time in what felt like forever, I was excited by the prospect of my future. With Aiden back, it was like I now had the best of both worlds.
“Are you going to be mad if I keep sitting with Grayson at lunch? It’s the only time I ever see him at school.”
Aiden sighed again, but it was playful. “It’s okay. I get it.”
“I’ll rejoin you guys next year after he graduates,” I promised.
Aiden watched me a minute with a frown on his face.
“What now?”
“I will never get used to the idea of you dating my brother. It’s seriously disgusting. If you guys start making out in front of me all the time, I am going to need therapy.”
I think I turned redder than I ever had before, and I felt a weight settle on my chest. “I think it might be too late for that,” I said, unable to hide my disappointment. “I think Grayson’s given up on me—not that I blame him.”
Aiden rolled his eyes and shook his head. “If that were the case, I’d be able to smell right now. Trust me, Aves, he’s still crazy about you. All you have to do is let him know you like him too.”
Grayson
I’m not going to lie, punching Aiden in the face felt really good. I hadn’t meant to break his nose, but I didn’t feel sorry for it either. Not even when I got grounded.
I don’t think my mom actually wanted to ground me—I think she knew Aiden deserved what he got—but it’s not like she could condone violence, so I received a month of house arrest. No friends over and no leaving the house for anything except family- or school-related activities, which, now that basketball was over, pretty much meant science club meetings. Oh freaking joy.
At least when I told Owen about it—I’d come clean to him about having to join science club—he offered to tough it out with me. I was a little shocked, but I wasn’t going to complain.
“What kind of geek stuff do you guys do?” he asked as we wandered into Mr. Walden’s classroom after school.
“Well, usually we work on our experiments for the science fair.”
“Dude. Do you seriously have to go to that?”
“Unfortunately. But it really hasn’t been that bad. Mine and Avery’s experiment mostly consisted of me taking her on dates. For that, I got extra credit and didn’t get kicked off the basketball team. One time I even had to kiss her as part of the experiment.”
“You got extra credit for kissing?”
“Pretty much.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“I believe those were Grayson’s exact words when he learned about the experiment,” Mr. Walden said as he came in the classroom with his standard cup of coffee. “Ones that almost earned him detention.”
I laughed as Owen’s face went pale. “Sorry, Mr. Walden!”
“Don’t let me hear anymore of that language, Mr. Jackson.”
“I won’t.”
Mr. Walden sighed but then smiled at me as he sat down. Actually, Mr. Walden is a pretty cool teacher.
“How is your experiment coming along, Grayson?”
The question