Manhattan

16.

IN THE DAYS after his father's passing, Aidan remembered how the apartment had taken on an air of gloom. An unfinished coffee mug sat on the living room table, unwashed dishes piled up in the sink. The once lively paintings that hung on wall had only been a reminder of the pain, the loss. The only sounds to be heard were the ticking of the clock, the dripping of the tap, and occasionally, the rumble of cars from outside.

What Aidan remembered most, however, was the quiet, the unbearable, crushing loneliness. He had nearly drowned in it. Ever since then, he'd sworn to himself that he would never let that kind of maddening silence creep into his home again. Looking around at the apartment right now, at his mother baking in the kitchen, at Benji's siblings running around the living room, the TV chattering away, the radio blaring, he couldn't help but feel his heart swell at keeping that promise to himself.

He grinned, clutching the two sodas he'd grabbed from the fridge, and headed back into his room, where Benji was sprawled out on the carpet, eyes fixated on the video game he was playing. He tossed the soda to Benji, causing him to drop the game console and glare at Aidan.

"You made me lose!" Benji protested, and Aidan rolled his eyes. He shoved aside Benji's sleeping bag with his foot and sat down beside him. He was getting used to having Benji's family living in the apartment. It had been a week since Benji had been discharged from the hospital, even longer since the incident - though no one had forgotten what happened - and Aidan and his mother had taken it upon themselves to welcome Benji and his family into their home for a while, give them time to recuperate. The only thing that kept Aidan from letting that same anger overwhelm him at seeing his best friend hurt, at thinking about Jeremy and everything he'd done, was the knowledge that Benji's court date was set a few weeks from now, and soon enough, Jeremy would get what he deserved.

He ducked now at the pillow Benji swung at him, laughing. Feeling his phone vibrate, he dug it out of his back pocket to find a message from Leah. Aidan's lips quirked up in a smile, and he typed out a quick reply before looking up to see Benji reading over his shoulder, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Who's this Leah?" he asked. "That's the girl you brought to the theater that day, right? She was pretty."

With a jolt, Aidan realized Benji and Leah had never really spoken to each other, that Leah was a complete stranger to Benji despite the fact that she'd sat by his bedside in the hospital. It was strange — how two people could be such a significant part of his life, yet never actually meet, like a pair of parallel lines running along either side of him, close but never touching.

"Yeah," Aidan said. "She wants me to meet her for dinner."

"Ooh. Sounds romantic."

"What?" Aidan spluttered. "No, it's not like that. We're just friends—"

"Dude. Seriously. Have you learned nothing? You're still as oblivious as ever. How long did it take you to realize that I had a crush on you?"

"That was different." Aidan shook his head. "Besides, you've never even met her. How would you know? And why would she have a crush on me—"

"Um, because you're a total catch. A clumsy, adorable catch." Benji grinned.

Aidan rolled his eyes. "It's not like that. Trust me. In fact, why don't you come along? You can meet her. See for yourself."

"What? And third-wheel on your date? No thanks," Benji said.

"It's not a date!" he protested.

"Okay, fine. But if she so much as bats her eyelashes at you, I'm getting the hell out of there," Benji said, and ducked as Aidan's pillow came flying at him.