Another Chapter Closes
I tuck the folder away in the back of my closet, behind a stack of sweaters I probably won’t touch again until fall. My fingers linger on it for a second longer than necessary, the weight of what it means still heavy in my chest, in my heart.
Zaid has always given me comfort, has always made sure I’m okay, that I’m taken care of and the revelation of this just made everything so much clearer to me.
I don’t tell Zaid or Aiden that Jake stopped by.
And luckily for me, Jake never comes again.
The rest of the week passes by much quicker than any of us wanted. The three of us spend as much time as we can together. We swim in the mornings, our skin warmed by the sun. We laugh and dive, testing how long we can hold our breath.
We eat a bit too much. Zaid manages to get us some alcohol, so we drink a little, too. We have drunken confessions at night and laugh at each other.
Zaid always manages to win any game we play and I begin to side with Aiden, accusing him of cheating. He swears he’s not.
Aiden and I warm up to each other by the end of it. We can talk and laugh without Zaid and it feels natural.
Sometimes, I catch Zaid looking at me when he thinks I’m not paying attention. And sometimes, I look right back. But we don’t touch, not yet. Not with Aiden still here. I couldn’t do that to him.
On Aiden’s last night with us, we throw him a small going away party. Nothing fancy, just lights on the patio, music, and good food. I invite Elena and her boyfriend, who turns out to be even sweeter in person than in the stories she’s told me.
His name is Noah, and he has kind eyes and a charming awkwardness that makes everyone comfortable around him. He’s incredibly smart and the only person that can keep up with his quirks is Zaid. Elena, Aiden and I just watch them like they’re speaking a different language.
At some point, the boys start a board game in the living room. Something about war and territories. Not my kind of thing, or Elena’s, for that matter. We retreat to the kitchen to wash the last of the dishes.
We’re not talking at first, laughing as we hear the guys yelling at each other from the living room.
Elena bumps my elbow slightly. I turn toward her just in time to see her lifting an eyebrow at me, her wet hands still dripping soap suds.
“What the heck did you do to Aiden?” she asks, lowering her voice.
I press my lips together, returning my eyes to the plate in my hand before asking. “What do you mean?”
She sighs and I swear she rolls her eyes. “Don’t play dumb with me, Ali. He’s looking at you like a lost puppy.”
I wince, drying my hands on a towel. “Yeah, I know.”
“Well?” she presses, nudging my arm. “What happened?”
I exhale slowly, shoulders sagging under the truth I’ve been holding back from her.
“I was in a relationship,” I say, keeping my voice low. “With Zaid. Aiden. And Jake.”
Elena’s eyes nearly pop out of her skull. “Wait. What the fuck?”
“Yeah,” I nod, eyes fixed on the soapy sink.
She stares at me like she’s trying to calculate something complicated in her head.
“I ended things with Jake,” I continue, voice quiet. “And with Aiden.”
“Oh.” She gasps, drying her own hands on the apron I let her borrow. “Not Zaid?”
I shake my head. “We still have to figure out exactly what our relationship will look like, but no, not Zaid. He’s the only one I want. I think he has always been the only one I have ever wanted.”
Elena’s brows draw together. “Okay. That’s good. I mean, messy, but good. I can’t imagine a relationship like that would have worked out long term.”
I shrug. “I wasn’t thinking long term when I went into it at first. I just wanted to feel good then and there, that was all that mattered to me.”
“You’re thinking long term now?” She asks, voice soft and kind.
I laugh softly. “I think so.”
She tilts her head, studying me. “You’re not gonna backtrack on Italy, are you?”
My throat tightens, and I bite the inside of my cheek, blinking hard against the sting behind my eyes. “No, I’m going.”
A pause.
“I love him, Elena. I love Zaid so much it hurts. But I want to be the kind of woman who deserves him. So I’m going to find myself. Heal. Grow. Come back whole. Come back free. And when I do, I’ll love him with everything I’ve got. Like he deserves.”
Elena stares at me for a beat, then pulls me into a hug, dish soap and all.
“Good,” she whispers in my ear. “Because I’ve never seen anyone look at anyone the way he looks at you.”
I nod into her shoulder, heart full to bursting, already counting down the days.
“I’m proud of the steps you’ve taken in therapy and in your life as a grown woman. Your dad would have been proud of you.”
That makes the tears fall without reservation. “I miss him.”
Elena laughs, broken by her own cries. “I see him every time I look at you. He’s inside of you, I can feel it.”
Elena’s arms are warm around me, her chin tucked on my shoulder like she’s trying to hold all my broken pieces in place. I didn’t mean to cry this much. But the week, the house, the weight of everything, it all just cracks me open.
I pull back slightly, just enough to glance over Elena’s shoulder.
Aiden stands there.
His eyes widen when he sees me crying, his mouth parting like he wants to say something, but he hesitates, foot already retreating.
Elena lets me go.
She turns, sees him, and without a word, reaches up to wipe the tears off my cheeks, then presses a soft kiss to my forehead.
“I’ll give you two a minute,” she says gently. And just like that, she walks out.
Aiden steps in slowly, his hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. “You okay?”
I nod, even though my eyes still sting. “Yeah, we were just talking about things. My dad.”
Aiden’s face falls at that. His jaw tenses, then loosens again as he steps forward and wraps his arms around me.
I melt into his chest without thinking.
“I love you,” he says. “I just, I want you to know that. I will always love you.”
My heart squeezes.
“I’m not angry,” he continues. “That things are over between us, but I’m gonna miss us. A lot.”
I nod against him, arms wrapping tightly around his waist. “Me, too.”
He pulls back just enough to press his forehead to mine. We stay like that, breathing each other in, not needing to say anything else.
Then he kisses me. Just once.
Tears prick again, but I smile. “You’re coming back for Thanksgiving?”
“Yeah. And you better come visit when I start playing,” he says, brushing his thumb across my cheek.
I nod. “Promise.”
We step apart slowly, hands lingering for a second before we walk back into the living room together. Elena and Noah are getting their things, saying goodnight to Zaid.
They hug us next and we usher them out the door.
Then Aiden heads upstairs to grab his things. Zaid and I make our way to the car. In less than an hour, we’ll be at the airport.
And just like that, another chapter quietly begins to close.
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