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?
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.
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.
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