On the day of my exam, Xavier wouldn’t stop calling me.
Then my mom dropped a bombshell—Xavier’s mom had almost killed his dad in a fight. If Xavier hadn’t rushed home, he could’ve lost both of them in a single day.
His life was spiraling. He went back to his old ways: ditching school, starting fights, causing chaos, and hopping from girlfriend to girlfriend.
That “you’re too good for me” speech he gave me? Yeah, it hit Sophia like a ton of bricks.
One day, Xavier got into a fight with some guys from another school—over some girl, of course.
And then Sophia came to me, crying, begging me to help. “Aria, please. Xavier only listens to you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that your job? Doesn’t he listen to you?”
She ignored me and dragged me along anyway.
When we got there, I almost didn’t recognize Xavier. He was covered in blood, but still trying to shove a cigarette butt into someone’s eye.
Meanwhile, a girl was sobbing, practically pleading with him to stop. “Xavier, I’m not mad anymore. Please, just stop fighting!”
Xavier always claimed he didn’t like “good girls,” but the girls he picked? Always gentler than the last.
Sophia rushed over to him, panicking. “Xavier, Aria’s here. Are you really going to fight in front of her?”
For a moment, Xavier stopped. His eyes flicked over to me, and in that split second, someone grabbed a knife from the ground and charged at him.
“Xavier!”
Sophia threw herself at him, and the knife slashed across her wrist.
The girl who attacked ran off, and the crowd scattered. But Xavier stayed, holding Sophia like she was the most fragile thing in the world.
“Sophia, Sophia…” he kept repeating, his voice frantic.
Sophia, playing the part of the damsel in distress, clung to him. “As long as you’re okay, Xavier. I’ll do anything. Anything.”
It felt like a bad drama. I pulled out my phone, called an ambulance, and then turned to leave.
But then Xavier, still holding Sophia, snapped at me. “Who told you to bring her here?”
I stopped dead in my tracks, confused. “Bring her here?”
Was he serious? Had I gone crazy or was he just that oblivious?
“Sophia’s always been so timid, haven’t you noticed?” he added, as if it was supposed to make sense.
This was the same tired act. And, as always, I was the villain.
Whatever. I was leaving soon anyway, so I might as well embrace the role.
I walked right up to Sophia, who was still clinging to Xavier like he was her life raft.
“What are you doing, Aria?” she gasped.
I yanked her away from him, making her wound reopen, and she cried even harder.
I leaned in close, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her pocket, and threw them onto the ground. “This is the ‘good girl’ you like?”
“Timid?” I scoffed. “The guy who just beat you up? He’s her smoking buddy.”
Xavier froze, staring at the cigarettes on the ground like he’d just seen a ghost.
Sophia’s face turned pale as she stammered, “It’s not like that, Xavier. They forced me to hold onto them. They didn’t want the teachers to catch us smoking.”
I wasn’t buying it. Neither was Xavier.
Without saying another word, I turned and walked off, leaving them in their mess.
