Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Life has a way of creating distance. Months passed without any news of each other, and I made sure to keep it that way. I even asked my parents not to mention the Carters or anything about their family.
College life at Stanford was exactly the distraction I needed. Between joining the photography club, volunteering at the campus radio station, and juggling a full course load, I barely had time to think about the past. The California sun had a way of burning off old memories.
Looking back, it seemed almost laughable how I’d centered my entire world around one person. Ironically, I found myself agreeing with something Aiden had once said why tie yourself down so young when there’s a whole world to explore?
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I was grateful for choosing Stanford. Sure, the earthquakes took some getting used to, and the rent prices were insane, but there was something magical about a place where flowers bloomed year–round. I’d already forgotten what East Coast winters felt like.
During winter break, my old lab partner Emma visited the Bay Area, and Maya and I took her to this amazing brunch spot in San Francisco. Inevitably, Aiden’s name came up.
“He and Madison barely lasted a month,” Emma said, stirring her mimosa. “Now he’s working his way through every sorority at Columbia. Total player. You wouldn’t even recognize him – completely different from the intense valedictorian we knew in high school. It’s like watching someone have a quarter–life crisis at nineteen.”
I stayed quiet, pushing my avocado toast around the plate.
Maya shot Emma a warning look, quickly changing the subject to her latest startup idea.
On New Year’s Eve, Maya and I went to a rooftop party overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. During the countdown, she nudged me to make a wish.
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It wasn’t until later that I realized something – for the first time, my wish had nothing to do with Aiden. For six years straight, every birthday candle, every shooting star, every 11:11 had been about him. Now, I was finally writing my own story.
The real test came during winter break of freshman year. Homesickness hit hard after finals, and I booked the first flight home I could get.
But walking through arrivals, my heart stopped. There, standing between my parents with that familiar half–smile, was Aiden.
