Chapter 10 #6
I risked another look as I rounded the corner with a tray of fresh glassware. Ulysses caught my eye. His gaze didn’t scream suspicion, exactly, but calculation.
Our eyes met briefly, but it felt like I was being scanned. He didn’t need to warn me. The message was clear in the way he adjusted his cufflinks and turned away, dismissing me as a non-threat because I was already owned.
The rest of my shift passed in a fog of paranoia and adrenaline. I replayed the dialogue repeatedly. The more I thought about it, the less I believed in coincidence. I silently vowed to uncover the meaning of “the Source” and why it persistently intruded into my family’s life.
When my shift ended, Rita and I locked up. She offered neither judgment nor comfort, just a sidelong glance and a gruff “Don’t mess this up.”
I promised nothing.
Outside, the city was a whirlpool of humidity and artificial light.
I began to walk, my mind a chaos of adrenaline and fear.
My reflection in a storefront window showed smeared makeup, disheveled hair, and trembling hands.
For a moment, I saw someone else entirely.
Someone braver. Someone who might actually live up to Ava’s ghost.
Then came my name.
Aiden’s voice wove through the sidewalk chatter. “Josie. Wait.”
I turned.
He stood there, bathed in the harsh fluorescence of the bodega behind him. His eyes were softer than I remembered. He remained silent for a moment before asking if I was okay, not flirting or boasting, just that: Are you okay?
And for once, I didn’t lie.
I just nodded and let the city swallow the rest of it.
We drifted down the street wordlessly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
You’ll headline the floor, Ulysses had said. Just like Ava.
8
Midnight Pulse
The city never slept, but some nights it tossed and turned so hard you could feel it even in the veins of the sidewalk. Our footsteps echoed down the avenue, filled with unspoken words. Maybe it was Ulysses’ offer that weighed on me. Maybe it was Aiden’s concerned look when he caught up.
We passed a group of delivery guys laughing under a red awning and a cat glaring at us from a fire escape. I hugged myself, not out of cold but to resist the urge to reach for Aiden’s hand. I was still trying to decide if that was a good idea.
Aiden was quiet, the kind of quiet that precedes important words. His gaze scanned the rooftops as if deciphering some secret message in the fire escapes and pigeon spikes.
We made it another block before I cracked. “So,” I said, voice louder than I intended, “this is the part where you walk me to my door and tell me you’ll call but never do, right?”
He snorted. “I’ll call. Even if I don’t, you’ll see me at Neon tomorrow.”
“Right.” I kicked at a loose chunk of curb into the gutter. “Assuming Ulysses doesn’t fire me for wearing sensible shoes.”
He smiled faintly, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
After a beat, I added, “Where’s your sidekick, Cody, right? Thought you two were glued at the hip tonight.”
Aiden’s expression flickered. “He went home.”
My brow arched. “So, what? You on babysitting duty?”
“I’m not babysitting you, Josie.” His voice was low, controlled, but edged with something fierce and wild. “You shouldn’t be walking home alone at night.”
His words hit harder than I expected, and silence fell between us, not awkward, just charged. He glanced at me, searching my face for something before his gaze dropped to my hands. “You’re not okay.”
It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway. “I’m not, but I will be.”
He didn’t respond, just kept walking with his hands in his pockets.
We took the shortcut behind the bodega, an alley lined with perpetually full bins and the scent of stale cigarettes. He watched me as I navigated through broken glass and discarded memories.
At the end of the alley, he stopped abruptly. He turned to face me. “What did Ulysses want tonight?” His voice was soft, but the undercurrent was all steel.
I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Offered me a promotion. Kind of.” I looked at the ground, heat prickling up my neck. “He wants me to headline. Like Ava did. With a mask, but no more hiding in the chorus.”
Aiden’s jaw tightened, a muscle jumping near his ear. “And you said yes?”
“It wasn’t exactly a negotiation.” I laughed, brittle as the glass under our feet. “I mean, he let me keep the mask; so, big win for me, right?”
He took a step closer. Not threatening, but like he was trying to close the gap between sense and instinct. “You know what that means, don’t you? You’ll be the draw. Everyone in that place will be looking at you.”
“That’s kind of the point,” I said. “He wants a show. He wants to make Neon the next big thing. I’m just the bait.”
His hands came out of his pockets, and he flexed his fingers, fighting to keep them steady. “You’re more than that. You know you are.”
The way he said it, like he believed it, made me want to believe it, too.
I looked up at him, my voice barely above a whisper. “I have to do this, Aiden. I don’t have another option.” I took a breath and let my fear show. “I need the money. For Mateo. And for me.”
He made a noise, half-laugh, half-growl. “Fuck Ulysses,” he spat. It came out raw, and for a second, something passed over his face, a flash of wildness that made my heart trip.
I stared at him, surprised by the intensity. “Are you okay?”
He looked away, jaw clenched, the gold in his eyes flaring brighter. “Sorry,” he said, voice roughened, “I just… He shouldn’t get to do that to you. Nobody should.”
I studied his profile, the sharp cut of his cheekbone, the way his hand balled into a fist at his side. “You’re really mad.”
He exhaled and tried to laugh it off, but failed. “I’m not mad at you.”
“I know.”
He looked back at me, eyes softer now. “You’re not scared?”
I shrugged. “Of Ulysses? Maybe. But not as much as before.” I chewed my lip before adding, “I’m more scared of what happens if I don’t try. I don’t want to get stuck, Aiden.”
He reached out then, tentative, and brushed his thumb across the back of my hand. It was barely a touch, but the jolt of it was enough to make me forget the world for a second.
“Good,” he said. “Because you’re stronger than him. Than all of them.”
I snorted. “Is that why you’re hanging around? Because you think I need a bodyguard?”
He grinned, taming his earlier wildness into charm. “Maybe I just like the company.”
We stood there, the city humming around us, neither of us willing to make the next move. Finally, I said, “Are you going to kiss me, or just keep standing there like a Calvin Klein ad that fights crime at night?”
He blinked, caught off guard, then laughed, a real laugh, full-bodied and bright. “I was trying to be a gentleman.”
I rolled my eyes. “That ship sailed the minute you followed me down a dark alley.”
He leaned in, not hesitant anymore, and for a moment the world shrank to just the two of us. His lips brushed mine, soft and unsure at first, then growing bold as my hands pulled him closer. The kiss was everything the night hadn’t been: warm, certain, alive.
When we broke apart, we were both smiling. He rested his forehead against mine. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while now,” he admitted.
“Good,” I said, trying to sound cool even though my heart was doing somersaults. “Because I’ve wanted you to.”
He squeezed my hand, then stepped back, eyes searching mine. “You really going to be okay?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
We fell back into step, the silence between us more comfortable now, as if the kiss had cleared some invisible fog.
At the next corner, the all-night bakery was prepping for the morning rush.
Across the street, a pair of squad cars parked nose-to-nose served as a reminder that we were being watched.
As we neared the subway, the world seemed to contract, light gone harsh, exhaust and perfume mixing into a heady city cocktail.
I thought this would be where we’d part ways: a quick wave, maybe a promise to text, then back to our separate orbits.
But when I turned to tell him goodnight, Aiden was still there, matching my pace stride for stride.
We descended the subway steps together, and I fumbled for my MetroCard, cursing under my breath as I realized I’d bent it again.
Aiden plucked the card from my hand, ran it through the reader, and held the turnstile for me.
My face flushed from embarrassment as we took the stairs two at a time to the platform.
The number four roared into the station, and I barely had time to register my gratitude before Aiden ushered me onto the car.
Inside, the air was thick with the metallic smell of late-night public transit. The seats were mostly empty. We chose one near the middle, next to an advertisement for a personal injury lawyer whose smile seemed designed to inspire existential dread.
For a moment, I just watched the blur of the tunnel through the window, letting the flicker of passing lights empty my head. Then I realized Aiden was watching me too, not in a creepy way, but with gentle curiosity.
I finally said, “You didn’t have to follow me all the way to the train, you know.”
He shrugged, feigning innocence. “Maybe I’m just making sure you don’t vanish into the night.”
I snorted. “Not much chance of that. I’m more likely to pass out and miss my stop.”
His grin was bright beneath the flicker of the car’s overheads. There was something about his posture, elbows resting on knees, hands laced, that made him seem both relaxed and ready to spring.
I watched our reflections blur in and out of focus on the glass with each passing station light. Aiden followed my gaze, and for a moment we were both silent.
“Ever think about what it’d be like to just… get on a train and not get off?” I asked.