twentyeight
Leo's POV
There's a knock.
Soft at first.
Then again.
I know that voice.
"Leo? It's me."
Liya.
My chest lifts-
light, warm, hopeful-
because after last night?
After everything we said, everything we did?
I wanted her.
I get off the couch-hair stuck up, shirtless, not awake yet-and start walking to the door.
And then-
The door opens.
Not by me.
By someone else.
Someone who shouldn't be here.
Maya.
My best friend Mateo's little sister.
Chaos walking.
Crashing at my place when she and her boyfriend fight and Matteo's out of town for a show.
Came here drunk last night crying and refused to go home.
Oversized shirt?
Mine.
Because hers smelled like tequila.
Makeup smudged?
From crying, not anything else.
Attitude?
Because she always has one. She's Boricua.
But all Liya sees is:
A half-dressed girl in my shirt answering my door.
I reach the doorway a second too late.
And Liya is standing there.
Breakfast in her hands.
Coffee balanced carefully.
Soft smile fading into-
Pain.
Her face crumples.
My heart drops.
"No-Liya-wait-" I push past Maya, but the damage is done.
She's already stepping back.
Eyes wide.
Shaking.
Breaking.
Maya rubs her eyes.
"Huh? Who's that?"
Liya ignores her completely.
She just whispers, "Okay," like she's accepting a fact that's killing her-
And the breakfast falls from her hands.
Coffee splashes everywhere.
Food scatters.
My stomach twists violently.
"LIYA," I gasp. "Baby-no-wait-LISTEN-"
But she bolts.
Down the stairs.
Fast.
Weirdly fast.
"Aaliyah-STOP-PLEASE-"
She doesn't.
She doesn't even look back.
I run barefoot after her-
heart slamming,
breath broken,
panic clawing up my throat.
"LIYA!"
She reaches her car.
Door slams shut.
Locks click.
I grab the handle-
locked.
"Please," I whisper against the glass.
"Please look at me."
She stares straight ahead.
Tears streaming.
Oh god.
She thinks-
She thinks Maya and I-
"I swear to god-it's not-she's not-Liya PLEASE-"
She starts the engine.
I hit the window once-not hard-just desperate.
My voice cracks painfully:
"Aaliyah-DON'T GO-"
She drives away.
My chest caves.
My hands shake.
My heart is beating too fast, too hard.
She's gone.
Gone like everything last night meant nothing.
I stand there on the pavement, staring at the empty street, feeling the bottom drop out of my entire body.
Then I turn.
Maya is leaning on the railing, arms crossed, looking confused and annoyed.
"What the hell was that?" she asks.
I almost see red.
"What the hell are YOU doing here?" I snap.
She blinks. "Uh-sleeping? I told you I was staying because I didn't wanna go ho-"
"You weren't supposed to ANSWER my door!"
"You were in the shower!"
"No, I wasn't!"
"Well how was I supposed to know that?"
I run both hands through my hair, pacing, heart pounding.
"She thought you were-" I choke. "She thinks we-FUCK."
Maya straightens.
"Oh. OHHHH. She's the girl you like?"
I glare.
"Yes."
"The one you said you didn't want to screw up with?"
"Yes."
"The one you were all soft and gross about last week?"
"Oh," she whispers.
"Shit."
"Yeah," I rasp.
"Shit."
I grab my keys with shaking hands.
"I'm going after her."
"You want me to text her?" Maya asks.
"No."
"You want me to explain?"
"No."
"Leo, I'm sorr-"
"Not now. Get out."
I slam the door behind me and run.
Because all I know is this:
I'm not losing her.
Not over something I didn't do.
Not like this.
Not when I finally found something real.
I have to fix it.