Aris

"So... sex was all you wanted from me?"
"And what else could I want from you?"
"I don’t believe you..." Despite my words, I could already feel the tears streaming down my face.
"I never lied to you about who I am, Aris. I always said it plainly: I'm not the type to want something serious with any girl, the type to call the next day or have any interest in romance. And even if I did... why would I want someone like you?"
"Someone like me..." I repeated, struggling to believe he was saying what was going through my mind. "Could you be a bit more specific?"
"I don’t want to be a jerk, but... You know about your condition. You said yourself that you don’t want anyone to fall in love with you."
"So you’re saying that... If you were ever interested in something serious with someone... it wouldn’t be with a girl who might not be alive in five or six years?"
"I didn’t want to be that direct. But, since you brought it up..."
If I thought he had already reached the peak of painful and cruel statements, that was undoubtedly the worst of all. My chest hurt in a way that reminded me of when I was a child, before the transplant, and my heart was sick. A pain that suffocated me, spreading throughout my body and draining all my strength.
"Don’t come back here," Dimitris added, before turning and, as if he hadn’t said anything significant, returning to the arena.
And I stood there, alone...
Abandoned... Rejected...
Deceived... But not by him. After all, he was right: he had never lied to me. He had made it clear from the start that he could be cruel and that he would end up hurting me.
But I could never have imagined such intense suffering.
I went back to the car, collapsing into tears. My phone vibrated, indicating new messages, but I wasn’t able to open or respond to them. For days, I had been replying to my family with monosyllabic responses, avoiding longer conversations with the excuse that I was busy studying. And that was the same excuse I had been giving in messages to explain why I wasn’t answering their calls.
However, minutes later, my phone began to ring, and when I saw the contact’s name displayed on the screen, I didn’t want to ignore it anymore. I didn’t want to worry anyone, but I couldn’t bear all that pain alone.
As soon as I answered, my stepmother began to speak before I could say anything:

"Aris, what’s going on? Everyone is worried about you. You haven’t been responding to messages properly and you haven’t been answering our calls."
"Aunt Tati..." I said, unable to hide the tears in my voice.
And that triggered her concern.
"Are you crying? What happened, Aris?"
"I... I’m not okay..." I confessed.
"Oh, my Little Fairy... What’s happening?"
"I need you, Aunt..."
"...I’ll catch the first flight there tomorrow morning."
It wasn’t right for her to come from Athens to the city where I was just because I couldn’t handle a boy’s rejection. And after all the health concerns my family had already had because of my situation, the last thing I wanted was to worry them in any way.
But at that moment, I needed someone by my side so badly.
And so, I ended up agreeing.

***


Aris


September 27.
Sometimes all we need is the comfort of family.
I’m glad Aunt Tati is coming to see me.
...
I didn’t want to make my stepmother travel so far just because of my emotional problems. But Aunt Tati was, above all, my best friend, and I really felt like I needed her at that moment.
Still, I told her that it might not be a good idea. I knew my dad well enough to know that if she told him she was coming to Thessaloniki to meet me, he would have a meltdown wanting to know what was going on. If my moms found out, it would be a real apocalypse.
But Aunt Tati assured me she would convince my dad that there was no reason to worry. And she would also call my moms to say that I hadn’t been answering calls because I was too focused on my studies.
And I believed it might work.
I had arranged to meet her in the college courtyard, near the entrance. Lizzie was free at that moment, so she decided to come with me, even though I had told her that my stepmother only had some work-related matters in Thessaloniki and would drop by to see me, and then we would have lunch together.
"Isn’t it a coincidence that your stepmother and best friend are coming just when you’re feeling down?"
"I’m not feeling down, Lizzie."
"If I were at least your second-best friend, you’d tell me what happened."
I couldn’t help but laugh. And that was the first smile I had managed in days.
"You’re not second because you’re tied with Aunt Tati. The categories just change. You’re my best friend in my age group. She’s the friend who’s kind of like a mother but a little less crazy than moms."
"If we’re in the same category, why can’t you talk to me?"
"I’ll talk, Lizzie. I promise to tell you everything tonight. But... the first time I talk about it, I know I’ll break down like a child, and... She’s someone who’s seen me break down many times."
"That’s okay. Just know you can break down with me too, whenever you need."
"I know. And you know it’s mutual."
"The only man on earth who would make me break down is Can Yaman, and he doesn’t even know I exist."
"And who said I’m breaking down because of a man?"

"Unfortunately, I even know his name, Aris. And you should be happy since you got the spot for the dance competition. Besides that, I know everything is fine with your family, and I hope with your health as well. ...Hey, your health is okay, right?"
Since discovering the details of my heart condition, Lizzie had started asking almost daily if I was physically well. I was grateful for her concern, but at the same time, I feared I had added another person to my list of those constantly worried about me dropping dead at any moment.
" My health is fine, don’t worry."
" Then I’m still right about what’s causing you to feel down."
" I’ve told you I’m not feeling down."
" Admitting you have a problem is the first step to getting out of it. The second step, if the problem is heartbreak or a breakup, is to find someone else."
" Assuming for a brief moment that my problem was a breakup... I definitely don’t want to try to heal from it by falling for someone else."
" And who said anything about falling in love, you crazy? Just to have fun, kiss some guys. There are a lot of cute guys at this college. If you give it a chance, you’ll definitely find someone who’s worth much more than..."
" Lizzie..."
" Okay, sorry." She was scanning the courtyard, as always, attentive to everything. " ...Oh my God, there are really a lot of cute guys. Look at that one over there."