Future Hopes and Past Secrets–2
“Hey.”
“You having fun?” his tone is friendly but his eyes a bit loose from the drinks.
“Yeah, it’s great,” I reply, smiling.
He studies me for a moment and I frown, trying to read the expression on his face.
“Can I ask you a question?”
I steal a glance to Aiden, who is still in conversation with Parker. “Uh, sure.”
Evan leans in slightly, lowering his voice. “Has Aiden ever told you what happened
between him and Zaid?”
The question catches me off guard and I recoil. “What do you mean?”
He purses his lips together. “I’m just wondering.”
Curiosity has me taking the bait. “All I know is that Zaid is not a big fan of Aiden, but beyond that I am not sure. Why? Do you know?”
He shakes his head. “No. I do know it’s more complicated than that, though. They used to
be best friends.”
I blink, shock spreading through me. “Wait, what?”
“Yeah, they were inseparable. They played on the team together. We all did.”
I cough, pressing a hand to my chest. I’ve been harboring guilt for what happened to Zaid, and learning this puts a weird feeling in my gut. “Really?”
“Yeah, I mean. Have you not seen the pictured in the gym hallway? Zaid was like, really good. Even better than Aiden.”
I steal another glance at Aiden, my nostrils flaring and my heart hammering in my chest. “Really? I had no idea.”
Aiden’s been secretive about this. On purpose. He knows that it was Zaid that saved me
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8:22 pm
Future Hopes and Past Secrets–2
from Will, right? He knows that he got expelled, right?
“Yeah, Zaid was our team captain before Aiden. He got badly injured one game, everyone saw it. Tore his knee real bad. They told him he’d never play again. That’s when everything changed. When Zaid changed. You know he went to juvie?”
I nod, swallowing even though my mouth is as dry as the desert. I put my plate down. “Do you know why he went to juvie?”
“That’s the thing, no one really knows the whole story. Some say he killed someone in an accident, some say he only injured someone. Something about street racing?”
I grip the end of the table to keep myself upright. Car accident.
Metal, burning metal, fire, gas, asphalt.
I breathe in slow, closing my eyes.
“Alina?” Evan puts his hand on my back to ground me. “You okay?”
I shake my head, hoping Aiden has not noticed me falling apart over here. “I’m good.
What else do you know?”
“That’s about it. Aiden and Zaid stopped talking when Zaid got back, and if you bring it up to either one of them, they get really angry about it. It’s like this huge school secret that no one really talks about. I was just curios if you knew, because I’m a bit nosey.”
He grimaces like if what he just admitted is the worst thing in the world.
“Please don’t tell Aiden I asked.”
“I won’t,” I shake my head, nerves trembling all throughout.
“Sorry,” He whispers, walking away like he’s trying to sneak away from a ghost.
I stand there, my mind racing with the new information. I look over to Aiden, who is laughing with his teammates, completely unaware of the the bombshell that had just been dropped on my lap.
Part of me wonders if I even have anything to be angry about.
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Future Hopes and Past Secrets–2
Aiden is allowed to have his past and his secrets, just like me. I don’t know what happened between them, but it’s not for me to judge.
I return to him and he kisses my forehead. I let myself melt into him, forgetting about the secrets he holds from the past. I have secrets too, and even now I have no desire to talk
about them.
