“I haven’t been by your side / in a minute but I, think about it sometimes”—What A Time by Julia Michaels, Niall Horan
Why can’t he take a goddamn hint?
I’ve been standing here for good fifteen minutes, looking at Aaron while he’s talking to his friends. I mean, I guess I can’t take it badly. If I wanted to talk to him, I might as well walk up to them and ask for his time. But I am not doing that. I keep standing here like a coward, waiting for Aaron to walk over here.
I’m not even sure why the thought of talking to Aaron gets me this nervous? He’s just… Aaron. Phoenix.
He’s the guy that owned my heart a long time ago. Emphasis lies on long time ago.
Thankfully I don’t have to wait much longer for him to get the hint. On second thought, I want to run away because the smirk on his face as he approaches me screams danger.
“Hey there, Icicle,” he says, clapping his hands together. “What’cha doing here?”
You got this, Sofia. He’s just Aaron. “Do you know where Lily’s at? I’ve tried finding her all week but she’s unfindable.”
His arms cross over his chest, his tongue pressing into his lower cheek as he continues to smirk. “Why?”
What does he mean “why?” Lily is my best friend. I’ve never called her anything but that even when we haven’t been speaking for ages. “Because I need to see her. I need to talk to her.”
“Not sure where she is, but you can come home with me and ask her boyfriend. He definitely knows where she’s at.”
I should say no and continue to look for her all around campus daily. Something about Aaron’s tone tells me he is lying. It’s the same one he always used when we were younger, and he was being dishonest. Though, these days it’s a bit deeper as his voice deepened over the years.
But what comes out of my mouth is, “Doesn’t he play hockey, too?”
Aaron nods. “He skipped practice.” As far as I heard, Colin Carter is the captain of the hockey team. A pretty unreliable one if he skips practice just like that. “I actually have a really important favor to ask you, Sofia.”
My alarm bells start ringing. The last time Aaron and I spoke was the day I got here, and before that when we were eight. Whatever favor he wants to ask for, it’s nothing he should be asking me so early on. I mean, you don’t just go around asking favors of people.
“What favor?”
“I’ll tell you when we get home. I have to ask Colin the same one, no need to say it twice.”
“I’m not sure if he’s home yet,” Aaron tells me as he unlocks the front door to his house.
It’s weird being back here. Granted, I’ve only been here once, but that doesn’t make it any less weird. At least this time I’m not here to use his shower and change my clothes.
“How am I supposed to ask your best friend a question when he isn’t even here?”
Aaron holds the door open for me and I follow him inside. “You’re not just here for him, Icicle. We have some catching up to do, don’t you think?”
Considering that I didn’t even think he’d ever want to talk to me again, I didn’t believe so, no. Now that he indirectly says he wants to talk to me, I certainly do.
Just as I open my mouth, the same handsome looking guy I’ve seen exit Mrs. Reyes house comes sprinting down the stairs. “You’re hom—Who the hell is this?” He points at me but doesn’t bother to look at me.
Aaron takes out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and takes a long sip before he even cares to answer. “She’s someone that can so easily steal your girlfriend from you, Carter.”
Right, because Lily and I are oh-so close these days.
Don’t get me wrong, I really wish we were. Losing my friendship with Lily has been the hardest fucking thing to go through in my entire life. I’ve hated every day I lived in Germany for the simple fact that Lily wasn’t there with me.
Sure, I got used to not having her around. I found other friends, too. It’s not that I’ve been lonely without her.
It’s just… Sometimes, losing your best friend hurts more than anything you’ve ever felt before. Especially when you don’t have an actual cut in the friendship. When your friendship just drifts further and further apart and there is nothing you can do about it. It feels like stabbing a knife into your heart so you could die… only that you keep missing the heart and stab over and over again.
Not being able to find peace with a situation sucks.
“Steal my Lilybug from me?” He laughs, once. “Impossible.” All of Colin’s humor is gone just after the last word leaves his mouth. Eventually, he looks at me, or rather his eyes follow up my body. “Don’t tell me you’re his new on-again off-again fuckbuddy.”
“Winter and my fucking was never on-again and off-again. Our relationship status was.” Details that I do not need to know. “But, my friend, to answer your first question, this is Sofia.”
I can see as Colin’s body freezes from shock. It’s like my name alone is poison in his mind. “Sofia?” he asks to make sure. “The Sofia?” He’s now watching me more deeply, analyzing every inch of my facial features.
Whatever he might see on my face, I don’t think he likes it.
A second after Colin finishes staring at my face, his eyebrows drip and he looks as though he’s in pain. “Like, the one that moved to Germany—Sofia?”
I don’t know who talked about me, but one definitely did. There is no way this guy would know this otherwise. Not sure if I want to entertain the idea that both of my long-lost friends talked about me to someone that has no idea who I am.
“That would be me.”
Colin’s body sags as he exhales so deeply, he might as well be blowing out more air than what was inside of him. “Are you planning on stealing my girlfriend from me? Because I’m not sure I won’t use some of my contacts to stop that from happening.”
I shake my head instantly. Unsure if I should be terrified or find that adorable. “Aaron just took me here so I could ask you a question.”
“Right. Icicle, Lily isn’t attending classes these days. She’s at—she’s somewhere outside of New City at the moment. Won’t come back before Friday of next week,” Aaron says way before I even get to voice my question for Colin.
What the hell though. Why didn’t he just tell me that before he took me here? Because, clearly, he knew.
“You could’ve just told me that right away, Phoenix.”
“Phoenix? Now that’s getting interesting.” Amusement dances on Colin’s words. He leans back against the wall, just watching Aaron and me.
Aaron holds up his middle finger, flipping both, Colin, and me, off like we’re eight years old again. “I could have, but where’s the fun in that?”
“I have things to do.”
“Like what? Look for your best friend all around campus when she’s not there?”
I’ve listened to enough true crime podcasts to know how to murder him without getting caught. Never thought this would come in handy, apparently it will very soon. “You’re such an asshole, you know that?”
“That’s not how you should talk to an old crush.”
Alright, let’s start a list of things I need in order to make his death look like an accident.
“I never had a crush on you.” That’s not entirely true, but you know, at the age of six to eight, every guy you meet is either disgusting or you pin after them for no reason. I can easily play this off.
Aaron chuckles, winking at me before he says, “Anyway, now that you’re both here… Colin, Miles needs our help and you do not have any other choice but to be okay with it. It’s about Brooke. And Sofia, the favor I needed to ask you… I kind of need you to watch a little four-year-old for an hour or two, daily. Together with Lily, of course. It’s just for the time while we’re at hockey practice.”
That’s a lot to ask, don’t you think?
“Obviously I’ll owe you for that. But here’s the thing…”
To sum up his explanation, his friend needs help to keep his daughter around without making her attend his classes. And Aaron doesn’t want Lily to take care of a toddler all by herself for whatever reasons. Which is where I’ll come into the picture. Being a helping hand.
There are about two handful of reasons why I should say no.
But there are also a few reasons why I cannot say no.
Reason number one: A father needs help with his child. And as it sounds, he is really depending on his friends for it.
Reason number two: I get to spend time to reconnect with Lily.
Reason number three: As much as I want to murder Aaron for being an asshole, he’s been a great friend once. Annoying, but a great one nonetheless. I may not be helping him out, but someone that’s important to him.
