Chapter 16 #2
“I thought you didn't have any exams this week?” Max asked, echoing my thoughts.
“I don't, but I have that essay due Friday. Might as well get it done.” Aaron grabbed his bag and headed toward the sofa where Rosie was sitting.
I watched, helpless, as he dropped down next to his sister. She looked up, clearly surprised, and I could see the slight panic in her eyes even from across the café.
“Great,” Max muttered under his breath. “This is going to be painful to watch.”
We pretended to focus on our phones, but I kept glancing over. Aaron had his laptop out, but he wasn't typing. Instead, he was watching Rosie with that older brother intensity that made me nervous.
“So,” Aaron started, and even from here I could hear the casual tone that meant he was fishing for information. “You've been busy lately. Barely see you around the house.”
“I've been studying. And working in the studio,” Rosie replied, not looking up from her notebook.
“Right. And spending time with Dex in the studio?”
My blood ran cold.
Rosie's pen stopped moving. “What about it?”
“Nothing, just... You two have been spending a lot of time together. More than usual.”
“You asked me to help him in his recovery, remember?”
“Yeah, I know.” Aaron paused. “It's just that hoodie you're wearing. It looks exactly like the one Dex has.”
“It's a common hoodie, Aaron. Half the campus probably has one.” Rosie's voice remained steady, but I could see the tension in her shoulders.
“Maybe.” Aaron wasn't letting it go. “But Dex’s hoodie had this small bleach stain on the left sleeve. Right about... there.”
He reached over and touched the exact spot on Rosie's sleeve where a small, faded mark was visible.
My heart stopped.
Rosie looked down at the stain, then back at Aaron. The café suddenly felt too small, too hot, too exposed.
“Aaron...”
“Is there something going on between you and Dex?” Aaron's voice was low, controlled, but I heard the edge in it.
“We should go,” Max whispered urgently, tugging at my arm.
But I couldn't move. I couldn't leave Rosie to handle this alone, even though intervening would make everything worse.
“No,” Rosie said firmly. “We're friends. He's your best friend, Aaron. Don't be ridiculous.”
“Then why are you wearing his hoodie?”
“Because I was cold one night and he lent it to me. That's what friends do.” She finally looked at him, and I had to admire how steady she kept her voice. “You're being paranoid.”
Aaron stared at her for a long moment, and I could see the internal debate playing out on his face. He wanted to believe her, but something was clearly nagging at him.
“Dex!” Aaron suddenly called out, making both Max and I jump. “Come here for a second.”
“Shit,” Max breathed.
I forced myself to stand and walk over, my mind racing through possible explanations, possible exits from this conversation.
“Yeah?” I tried to sound casual as I approached.
Aaron looked between Rosie and me. “When did you give Rosie your hoodie?”
The question hung in the air like a grenade. One wrong word and everything would explode.
“Uh, last week? After our session. She was cold.” I kept my face neutral, my voice even. Years of media training for post-game interviews were finally paying off.
“And you didn't mention it?” Aaron's eyes narrowed.
“Why would I? It's just a hoodie, man.” I shrugged, praying he'd buy it. “You've borrowed my stuff before. Not that big of a deal.”
“Right.” Aaron didn't look convinced, but he didn’t have any proof beyond a borrowed hoodie. “It's just... you've both been acting weird lately. Secretive.”
“I've been dealing with anxiety about the Westpoint game,” I said, which was true. “And seeing my therapist more. Maybe that's why I seem off.”
“And I've been stressed about exams,” Rosie added. “Plus working. We're both just busy and tired, Aaron. There's no conspiracy here.”
Aaron looked at his sister, then at me, then sighed heavily. “Fine. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just being overprotective.” He rubbed his face. “It's just that you're important to me, Rosie. And Derek, you're my best friend. If something was going on between you two, it would be... complicated.”
“Nothing's going on,” Rosie said, and I heard the tiny crack in her voice that Aaron thankfully missed.
“Okay. Okay, I believe you.” Aaron started packing up his laptop. “I'm going to head out. This essay can wait.”
As Aaron walked past me toward the exit, he paused and gripped my shoulder. “Hey, just so we're clear? Rosie's off-limits. I know you'd never, but I'm just saying it out loud. She's my baby sister, and you're my brother. That line can't be crossed. Ever.”
Each word was a knife to my chest.
“I know,” I managed to say. “I get it.”
Aaron nodded, satisfied, and left the café.
The silence that followed was deafening. Max had strategically disappeared to the bathroom, leaving Rosie and me standing there, the weight of Aaron's words crushing down on us.
“Derek…” Rosie started, her eyes glistening.
“Not here,” I said quietly, knowing we couldn't risk even a comforting touch. “Later.”
She nodded, grabbing her things quickly. “I need to go.”
I watched her leave, my chest aching with everything I couldn't say, couldn't do. Aaron's warning echoed in my head: That line can't be crossed. Ever.
But we'd already crossed it. And there was no going back.
Max reappeared at my side. “That was brutal, man.”
“Yeah.” I sank back into my chair, feeling like I'd just played three games back-to-back. “This isn't sustainable, Max. Something's got to give.”
“So what are you going to do?”
I thought about Rosie's taste still lingering in my memory, the way she looked wearing my hoodie, the messages on my phone filled with words we couldn't say out loud. I thought about Aaron's face when he'd warned me off, the trust in his eyes that I was actively betraying.
“I don't know,” I admitted. “But I can't lose her. I won't.”
“Even if it means losing Aaron?”
The question hung there, unanswered, because I didn't have an answer. Not one that didn't make me feel like the worst friend in the world.
My phone buzzed.
Rosalie
I'm sorry.
We should stop. This is too hard.
But I don't want to.
I don't know what to do.
I stared at the messages, my thumb hovering over the keyboard. What could I say? That it would be okay? That we'd figure it out? Both felt like lies, even though Aaron had just made his position crystal clear.
Meet me at the studio tonight. 11 pm.
We need to talk.
Rosalie
Okay.
I pocketed my phone and looked at Max. “Cover for me tonight?”
“Always,” he said, but his expression was worried. “Just... be careful, Derek. With both of them. This is going to blow up eventually.”
“I know.” I stood up, suddenly needing to move, to do something other than sit and spiral. “But maybe there's a way to make it work. There has to be.”
Max didn't respond, and his silence said everything. We both knew the truth: some lines, once crossed, changed everything. And there was no crossing back.
The studio was dark when I arrived at 10:55 pm, but I saw the light under the door. She was already here.
I found Rosie sitting on the floor, back against the wall, hugging her knees. She'd changed out of my hoodie, probably left it at home to avoid any more questions.
“Hey,” I said softly, locking the door behind me.
“Hey.” She didn't look up.
I slid down next to her, close enough that our shoulders touched. For a moment, we just sat there in silence.
“He knows something's different,” she finally said. “Even if he doesn't know what.”
“Yeah.”
“And he made his position pretty clear.” Her voice was small. “You're off-limits. I'm off-limits.”
I turned to face her. “Rosie...”
“Maybe he's right.” She looked at me then, and the pain in her eyes matched what I felt. “Maybe this is too complicated. Too risky. You're his best friend, Derek. He trusted you.”
“I know.” The guilt was suffocating. “But I can't... I can't just turn off what I feel for you.”
“Neither can I,” she whispered. “But what are we doing? Sneaking around, lying to everyone, almost getting caught every time we're in the same room?” She wiped at her eyes angrily. “This afternoon was terrifying. And it's only going to get worse.”
I reached for her hand, interlacing our fingers. “So what do you want to do?”
“I want to be with you,” she said immediately. “But I also don't want to lose my brother. I don't want you to lose your best friend. And I'm scared that we can't have both.”
“We tell him.” The words came out before I'd fully thought them through. “Not now, but soon. After the Westpoint game, once things calm down. We sit Aaron down, and we're honest.”
“He'll hate us.”
“Maybe at first. But he loves you, Rosie. And he's my brother in every way that matters. He'll be angry, yeah, but eventually...” I squeezed her hand. “We have to believe he'll come around.”
She was quiet for a long moment, then leaned her head on my shoulder. “What if he doesn't?”
“Then we deal with it. Together.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I'm not giving you up. Not for anyone.”
“Even Aaron?”
The question I'd been avoiding all day. I took a breath. “I don't want to lose him. But yeah, even Aaron. Because you're not just some girl I'm hooking up with. I love you, Rosie. And that's not going away.”
She tilted her face up to mine, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I love you too. So much it scares me.”
I kissed her then, soft and slow, tasting the salt of her tears. When we pulled apart, she was smiling through the crying.
“Okay,” she breathed. “After Westpoint. We'll tell him together.”
“Together,” I agreed.
She settled back against me, and I wrapped my arm around her, holding her close in the only place we could be ourselves.
“Until then, we have to be more careful,” she said. “No more wearing your hoodies. No more sitting close in public. We have to sell it.”
“I know.” It killed me, but she was right. “Just a few more weeks. We can do this.”