Chapter 38
Astrid
Hearing it from the Orange Falls gossip squad would've still been bearable—at least rumors have a way of softening the blow. But catching me in bed with him, as if I'd been secretly hiding a lover? That was the emotional equivalent of walking in on a husband tangled up with his mistress.
“Aren’t you going to talk to me?” It had been ten minutes since Aeron left us alone, and Kelly had spent every single one quietly seething, cartoon-level smoke practically puffing from her ears, even stubbornly pretending I didn't exist.
“Sorry.” She stared pointedly at the wall. “Still busy processing my friend’s secret double life.”
There it was. The guilt-trip, Kelly-style, pouring salt into an already raw wound. I wondered if making her favorite chicken wings might earn me some forgiveness, but she interrupted my silent bargaining before I could even finish the thought.
“Since when?”
“Summer festival,” I confessed sheepishly, the memory hitting me like a sugar rush: Ferris wheel spinning, Aeron’s lips on mine, the rain soaking us as if the legend existed solely for us.
That kiss had still replayed shamelessly in my mind.
Did Aeron ever think about it too, or was I alone in this sweet torture?
“You were together during the festival?” she asked, sounding hurt. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“Near the end,” I clarified quickly, hoping to sidestep another round of guilt. “Right around when the fireworks started.”
I reached out, taking her hands. “Kel, remember our late-night call? When I said I had something big to tell you?” She nodded, and I went on.
“This was it. I wanted to tell you face-to-face, not over the phone.
I wanted a full Kelly reaction. Your wide eyes, squealing, everything.
But then you said you'd be swamped for two days, and instead of me telling you properly, you walked right into—well, us.”
“Well, I guess I can forgive you, technically you did put me first, and I was the one who wasn’t around.” She finally cracked a smile, and the tightness in my chest loosened a little. “Wait. He didn't blackmail you into dating him, right? Blink twice if you need me to plan a rescue mission.”
I blinked twice, slowly , deliberately , dramatically , and then shook my head with a laugh.
“No rescue necessary, unfortunately. It was completely mutual. Can you believe I would’ve confessed first if he hadn't gotten there before me?” I buried my face in my hands, eyes squeezed shut.
That was literally the only thought running laps in my brain when I was sitting alone on that Ferris wheel.
Kelly leaned closer, squinting at me suspiciously. “What happened to my real Astrid?”
“Aeron happened,” I squealed, literally squealed , and two seconds later realized just how thin these walls were. I prayed that he wasn't listening, because if he was, he'd tease me mercilessly, and I'd probably die right then and there from sheer embarrassment.
“I still can’t wrap my head around how someone who smiles once a year got you this smitten.”
“Can you stop picking on him every chance you get?” To be fair, Aeron picked on her just as much as she picked on him. Still, I couldn’t help jumping to his defense whenever anyone called him out, even if that anyone was my best friend.
“Look at you, already taking his side.” She pressed her hands over her heart, faking betrayal. “Eight years of friendship kicked aside for, what—” she paused to count on her fingers, “—a boyfriend of exactly three days?”
“Stop being dramatic, Kel.”
“Uh, I think drama’s much needed,” she said. “You dated Shawn for a month, and never got this gooey-eyed.”
“Okay, fair warning, never ever bring his name in front of Aeron.” It wasn’t like Shawn had ever been important enough to talk about, but Aeron’s jealousy tended to go from zero to sixty, and I had no intention of tossing matches anywhere near that fire.
“You just gave me an idea.” Her grin slid dangerously close to evil-genius territory.
“Kel,” I warned.
“Okay, okay.” She wiped the mischief off her face. “Now, spill. When exactly did you start liking him? Because either I'm blind, or you've been playing top-secret spy with your feelings.”
When exactly? I combed through my memory, trying to pinpoint the moment.
Was it at the founder’s hall, spending time together and seeing a side of Aeron no one else saw?
Or maybe it was that spark of jealousy I felt when he told me about a girl's smile he'd captured, and wanted to keep only for himself. Or maybe when he comforted me while I broke down, or when he fixed Dad’s watch and gave it back to me? Honestly, I wasn’t sure.
Maybe it started even before all of that. I hadn't kept count.
“I wish I knew, Kel,” I said softly. “One moment he was just Aeron, and the next, he was..he was everything.”
“Oh, Azzie!” She threw her arms around me. “Stop being so cute. You're going to make me cry.”
I laughed, hugging her as tightly. “If you start crying, I’ll start crying, and then Aeron will think we’re nuts.”
“That might actually work out great. Maybe it'll scare him off, and I’ll finally get you back all to myself.”
“Hate to break it to you,” I said, “But you're stuck sharing me now.”
“You know I hate that. But if my best friend’s happy, I’m happy, even if the reason for her happiness is a grumpy bore who hardly talks,” she said.
I wasn’t sure about the grumpy, boring version of Aeron that Kelly described. That wasn’t my Aeron.
Because with me, he was different. He teased me all the time, cared too deeply, got openly possessive, and laughed without holding back. He even let me see the anger he usually kept bottled up. Hell, he showed me every emotion he usually hid from everyone else.
“You know,” she confessed guiltily, “in my head, I'd already picked out your wedding cake flavor with Allen.”
“What?” I burst out laughing. “Allen? Where did that come from?” Even Aeron had jumped to that conclusion. Sure, Allen was good-looking, and a great dad, but I’d never thought of him like that. And I was pretty sure Allen had never seen me that way either.
“You asked him to sit with you for the interview,” she said defensively. “I just connected the very obvious dots.”
I was trying to get you alone with Ayden, you dumbo.
Clearly, my matchmaking attempt had backfired spectacularly. Now I understood exactly where Aeron's jealousy had come from. I'd waved a red flag right in front of him, and poor Kaia had gotten caught in the crossfire.
Kelly interrogated me like she was digging for state secrets, squealing loudly when I mentioned the Ferris wheel kiss. She went on proudly about how we'd single-handedly kept the town legend alive this year.
I smiled, nodding along, but my eyes kept drifting toward the door.
“I should go check on Aeron,” I said, getting to my feet. He was probably feeling abandoned, I thought guiltily.
“Oh no you don’t,” she said, stepping in front of me. “I need a word with him first.”
I sighed. “Is that necessary?”
“Absolutely,” she said, with a stubborn tilt of her chin. “No talk, no blessing.”
“You said you approved,” I reminded her.
“Approval is entry-level,” she said. “Blessings are VIP.”
“Kel,” I pleaded, trying my best puppy-dog eyes on her, “try not to scare him too much.” I wasn’t sure who to feel sorrier for—Aeron being interrogated by Kelly, or Kelly facing Aeron’s zero-filter responses.
She flashed a wicked grin. “Anyone else, I might have. But him? Not a chance.” She spun around, marching off like a woman on a mission—then paused, doubled back, and narrowed her eyes at the photo frame on the table.
It was a picture of us, flipped backward, facing the wall. She fixed it quickly, nodding once with satisfaction. “There. Now it's perfect.”
Why did my gut keep insisting this had Aeron's fingerprints?
Kelly had even bolted the door from the outside. Too bad for her, I had other plans.