nine
Aaliyah's POV
I wake up dead.
Not literally.
But spiritually? Emotionally?
Absolutely.
My head hurts.
My lips are dry.
My mouth tastes like regret and cranberry juice.
And worst of all?
The sun is personally attacking me through my blinds.
I groan and roll over—
Only to fall halfway off my bed because my body refuses to behave.
"What the hell," I mutter.
My phone dings thirty times in a row.
I blink at it.
I sit up so fast my brain cracks in half.
LEO??
HE TEXTED ME??
No.
No no no no—
I'm not emotionally equipped for this.
I click Zaria's name first out of cowardice.
Zaria:
BABEEEE ARE YOU ALIVE
GIRL WAKE UP
I KNOW YOURE DYING
BUT I NEED TO SCREAM AT YOU
HELLOOOOOOOO?
??
Liya answer me before I break in
I KNOW YOU REMEMBER I SAW THE WAY YOU LOOKED AT HIM
omg
OMFG
CALL MEEE
I scroll. It gets worse.
She sent a video of us dancing and I look like a baby deer on wet ice.
Nope. Next.
Caleb:
Did you get home safe?
Liya?
I'm trusting your location right now but ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE
Okay Z says you're probably asleep
Text when you're awake PLEASE
I smile faintly.
They love me.
Annoyingly.
Then I open the one from Leo.
My heart tries to crawl out of my throat.
Leo:
You get home okay?
No emojis.
Just four words that feel like an earthquake.
I flop backward dramatically.
Why is he like this?
Why does a simple text make my entire body short-circuit?
I text Zaria before I implode.
Me:
im alive
barely
head hurts
send help
water. now.
She responds in 0.2 seconds.
Zaria:
GET DRESSED IM COMING OVER ????
I sigh and drag myself out of bed. My body feels like it ran a marathon. Or got hit by a medium-sized Toyota.
Twenty minutes later, Zaria bursts into my apartment with a brown grocery bag, sunglasses, and too much energy.
"My child," she says dramatically, placing a hand on my forehead. "You're sick."
"I'm hungover," I whine.
"Same difference," she says, pushing me toward the couch. "Drink. Eat. Don't die."
She hands me a water bottle and a granola bar like she's administering meds.
Caleb enters behind her, holding a bag of Gatorade.
He looks me over, concerned but relieved.
"You look like hell," he says lovingly.
"Thanks."
He places a blanket over me. "You scared me last night. Don't do that again."
"I texted you!" I defend.
"You texted me ONE smiley face and then vanished."
Zaria snorts. "Aaliyah uses emojis like they're sentences."
"She does," Caleb agrees.
I groan into my blanket.
"Okay," Zaria says, sitting cross-legged in front of me. "Let's talk about your MAN."
"He is not my—"
The door knocks.
Three slow, steady knocks.
Caleb's eyebrows go up.
Zaria's mouth falls open.
My heart stops.
"No way..." Zaria whispers. "No way."
Caleb gets up instantly. "Who the hell—?"
He swings open the door.
And there he is.
Standing in my hallway.
Black hoodie.
Gray joggers.
Hair messy.
Eyes tired.
He looks like he hasn't slept either.
Caleb freezes.
Zaria covers her mouth.
I die.
Leo shifts, hands in his pockets, looking directly at me on the couch.
"Hey," he says quietly. "Just wanted to make sure you were good."
My brain bluescreens.
I blink. "Hi."
"You look... rough," he murmurs.
"I feel rough."
He huffs—almost a laugh.
Almost.
He holds up a small plastic bag.
"I brought these."
Caleb leans forward, suspicious. "What is that?"
Leo ignores him.
Completely.
He walks past him like he's not 6'4 and glaring.
He kneels beside my couch and sets the bag down gently.
Inside:
Pedialyte.
Ibuprofen.
Two granola bars.
A bottle of SmartWater.
A pack of gum.
My heart actually melts into the carpet.
"I wasn't sure what you usually take for hangovers," he says softly.
I stare at him.
At this man.
This quiet, brooding, rumored-to-be-dangerous man.
On his knees beside my couch.
Delivering a Hangover Care Package like some kind of emotionally unavailable DoorDash driver.
"Thank you," I breathe.
He nods.
Doesn't smile.
But his eyes soften.
Zaria is silently screaming behind her hands.
Caleb looks like he's witnessing the apocalypse.
Leo stands up slowly.
"Well..." he says, clearing his throat. "I just wanted to drop that off."
"You're leaving?" I ask without meaning to.
His jaw twitches.
Like the question hit him somewhere inconvenient.
"I don't wanna bug you," he murmurs.
"You're not," I say quickly.
He meets my eyes.
Something warm flickers there.
Dangerous.
Unspoken.
He nods once. "Alright. Text me if you need anything."
My heart: BUFFERING . . .
I whisper, "Okay."
He hesitates at the doorway.
Just for a second.
Just long enough for Zaria to grab my wrist like she's about to explode.
Then he leaves.
Caleb shuts the door.
The apartment falls silent.
Zaria stares at me.
Caleb stares at me.
I stare at the bag Leo left like it's the Holy Grail.
Zaria finally whispers:
"...Girl."
Caleb adds:
"What the hell was THAT?"
And me?
I pull the blanket over my face and scream into it.
Because I know EXACTLY what that was.
Leo.
Checking on me.
Bringing me things.
Caring quietly.
Showing up.
And trying SO hard not to show too much.
And my whole chest?
Yeah.
It's done for.