I frowned, thrown off "Do i...remember?"
"Do you remember..." she starts but her voice falters. She glances down at the sand, biting her lip debating whether to even continue.
She then takes a shaky breath and finally looks up. Eyes locking with m...
Aiden's POV I can't believe it's been Ashley this whole time. My chest tightens the more I think about it—every cruel word I threw her way, every careless thing I said about her behind her back. I made her feel smaller when she was already drowning. No wonder she is the way she is. No wonder she keeps everyone at arm's length. It all makes sense now.
I sigh and pick up the ring Ashley left during therapy, the one she slipped off so abruptly before storming out. I thought about following her, apologizing right there, putting the ring back in her hand where it belonged. But I knew better. She'd just snap at me, twist my words, maybe even shut me out more than before.
And ever since she started talking to me, half the things she says don't add up anyway. None of it makes sense... and yet, deep down, something about her has always tugged at me.
Still, I've got too much of my own mess to deal with. Adding Ashley's drama to it would crush me. At least that's what Desirae keeps telling me. She's right. She has to be right. I need to focus on me.
But the ring...
I frown as I hold it up, the silver band gleaming under the dim light of my room. My thumb runs along its edge as my other hand rests behind my head while I lie sprawled across my bed. I bring the ring closer, squinting at the faint engraving inside. The date. The words etched there—words I shouldn't recognize—sting my chest.
Why does this feel so familiar?
I sit up suddenly, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Without thinking, I rush to my desk, yanking open the drawer I've barely touched in months. My fingers fumble through old notebooks and pens until I find it. My ring.
I set Ashley's ring next to mine, staring at them like they're cursed objects. My hands shake as I lift them, connecting them at the top.
"No..." I whisper, my throat tightening. "It can't be. Can it?"
I flip them, sliding the curves together, and the way they lock—the way they complete each other—rips the air from my lungs.
I gasp and drop both rings as if they've burned me, the metallic clang on my desk echoing through the silence of my room.
How? Why does this...
The thought shatters into pieces—
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Start of flashback -We're in the backseat of the car. My hand brushes hers as I lean closer. "Hey, don't lose the ring, okay? Guard it with your life." I grin at her.
She giggles, a sound that feels warm and familiar even if her face is blurred, hidden in a haze. "I won't."
"Promise?" I ask, locking eyes with the outline of a girl I should recognize, but can't.
She sighs dramatically. "Aiden, quit making me promise things today. I'm all out of promises."
I hold out my pinky, stubborn as ever. "Promise me you won't lose it."
