Maylen didn’t stop walking until the pier was a soft echo behind her and the streetlights painted her shadow across the quiet pavement. Her heart still thumped with the rhythm of both their voices. Aiden’s steady warmth. Lanry’s ruined plea. Every step felt too loud, like her boots were shouting the confusion she was trying to swallow.
She pressed a hand to her chest. It felt full. It felt crowded. It felt like two truths were trying to live in the same heartbeat.
She wasn’t ready for either of them.
When she reached the corner and leaned against a wall, the night air rushed into her lungs. It felt cold enough to make her senses sharpen again.
She didn’t realize she was trembling until someone draped a jacket over her shoulders.
Her breath caught.
It wasn’t Aiden’s jacket. And it was
