One in a Million

Days passed by with no word from the Mystery Boy, and Aalia tried to convince herself that it was over. He would never call and he had no reason to. She knew that. She realized she needed plans. She needed something, anything to get her mind off a guy she didn’t even know. A guy she needed to disconnect from despite the urge she felt to know more about him and fulfill that curiosity she constantly felt towards him. But she had nothing. She had no one.

She felt so alone.

As she sat on her couch in silence, the room slightly illuminated from the setting sun, she decided she would be risky. She would have fun that night and she didn’t need anyone to do it.

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Lights. She saw them everything. Strobe lights, neon lights, black lights. Her mind spun with emptiness, and she liked that. She knew it was odd to go clubbing alone. But she also knew it was odd for her to spend her nights on the phone with a complete stranger. So hooray for being odd, she thought.

She’d danced with too many guys in too little time, each of them hiking up her skirt further than the one before. What the hell are you doing, she thought. I’m having fun, she thought. Right?

She made her way to the bar and took a seat, laughing carelessly to herself.

“What’ll it be?” asked the bartender.

“I’ll have a Coke,” she said, smiling.

The man nodded and placed a napkin in front of her, topping it with a glass full of soda and a straw. She took a sip and leaned back in her seat.

“So what’s a pretty girl like you doing out by herself?” She heard a voice beside her.

She laughed down at her drink.

“Just having some fun, I guess,” she answered.

“I can tell,” the man responded, “I saw you on the dance floor. You were on fire.”

She laughed again. “Nice line. Did you think of it yourself?”

“I’m pretty creative. You should know, Aalia.”

At hearing her name coming out of his mouth, she turned around to meet his eyes and her stomach churned. Her muscles tightened, taken aback by the sudden encounter with him.

“Aiden,” she said quietly.

Casually, he took a seat beside her and ordered a drink.

“How have you been?” he asked, “You look great.”

She glared into his dark eyes. His speech was slightly slurred.

“Have you been drinking?” she asked.

He shrugged. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I’ve been fine. Just peachy.”

He sipped on his soda, and her body continued to tense at his presence. She reached into her purse and gripped a dollar, preparing to set it on the bar to pay for her drink and quickly walk away.

“Amy broke up with me,” she heard him say.

She boiled with anger at the sound of her name.

“Look, Aiden, I can’t do this. You—"

“I’m sorry, Aalia.” He looked her in the eye. “I’m sorry.”

She was in shock hearing him apologize. When she’d accused him of cheating all those months ago, he had never once said sorry.

“What?” she asked.

He started laughing. Quietly at first, but the laughter grew louder. She was confused.

“I’m a piece of shit, aren’t I?” he asked her, “Just a piece of shit. This is a really, really good soda.”

Aalia rolled her eyes. “You’re drunk. I’m leaving, Aiden.”

She paid for her drink and stood up, straightening her skirt.

“No, wait,” he quickly turned to her, “Stay.”

“You can’t tell me to stay,” she snapped, “You cheated on me. You can’t tell me to fucking stay, Aiden. You’re right. You are a piece of shit. I’m glad Amy dumped you.”

He looked at her with eyes she couldn’t read.

“You’re right,” he nodded.

And he erupted into menacing laughter once again.

Aalia began to walk away, leaving him and his ways behind.

“If I died tonight,” she heard him say loudly over the blasting music, “would you care?”

She rolled her eyes and turned to him. “You’ve always been over-dramatic.”

He dangled his keys in his hand and she knew what he meant.

“You can’t be that stupid,” she said, “You’re drunk.”

He shrugged, getting up.

“Call a cab, Aiden.”

“Why should I?” he asked, “What’s the use? No one will care if I die.”

“Call a cab,” she repeated.

“I can’t leave my car here.” He stumbled as he began to walk.

She thought hard over what she was about to say. Maybe she was just too hopeless or she just didn’t think he deserved to die. He could hurt people if he drove drunk and she knew that.

“I’ll drive you home,” she finally said.

He looked at her, scoffing. “What about your car?”

“I took a bus.”

She watched her answer register in his brain and he nodded before stumbling again.

“Let’s go,” she said, snatching his keys and hoping she wasn’t making a big mistake.

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Aalia sat in the parking lot of Aiden’s apartment complex as Aiden laughed uncontrollably in the passenger seat. She was furious at him. Completely and utterly furious. Furious because of all the stupid things he was getting himself into and somehow pulling her into it all. But she had to admit that part was her fault. She was letting herself get pulled into it.

“So you would care,” Aiden said loudly after his laughter simmered down.

“What?”

“You would care if I died tonight.”

She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye.

“Driving drunk is dangerous for everyone,” she said quietly.

He laughed again. “You love me.”

“No,” she snapped, “I don’t love you, Aiden.”

He looked at her, confused.

“I said sorry though,” he said.

“And that’s supposed to make everything okay again?” Her anger began to boil as all of her recent issues surfaced again in her mind. “You cheated on me, Aiden. You were fucking another girl behind my back for who knows how long. I won’t forgive you.”

Aiden was silent.

“I loved you once,” she continued, “I really did. But that doesn’t matter anymore.”

“It does matter. When you love someone, you never stop loving them.”

She laughed humorlessly. “Because of you, Aiden, I’m not capable of loving anyone.”

She looked at him painfully. Tears were threatening to surface already.

“Goodbye, Aiden.”

Her hand hadn’t even touched the door handle before he grabbed her tightly, bringing his face inches from hers.

“Let go!” she exclaimed, suddenly afraid.

“I love you, Aalia,” he said quickly, “Please. You can’t leave me like Amy did. You can’t. Not again. I can’t be alone.”

“Aiden, let go of me. Ple—"

He crushed his lips against hers and she shut her eyes tightly, struggling to break free. She found his arm in her hand and twisted it sharply until he broke away from her, wincing in pain. She took the opportunity to pry her door open and escape the car, leaving Aiden in his car.

She walked quickly towards the apartment complex exit as she heard his door open.

“Aalia, please! I’m sorry!” he yelled.

She wiped tears from her eyes. “Go home, Aiden. It’s over.”

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She sat at the bus stop with her head in her hands, thankful it was late enough that nobody was around to see her at her worst. She cried hard. The hardest she’d cried since the day she found out about Amy. The hardest she’d ever cried, perhaps.

She dug into her purse and pulled out her phone, taking another blind chance.

The phone rang and rang and rang.

She thought about what she would say in the voicemail. She told herself that maybe if she didn’t ramble so much this time, he’d call back. Maybe if she didn’t seem as though she needed him as much as she really did, he’d want to talk to her again.

“Hello?”

His voice suddenly made her jump. She waited a moment for herself to realize that she was just imagining it or his automatic voicemail message would begin to play, but it never did.

“Aalia?” His voice sounded as real as it could be.

“H-hey,” she finally said, sniffling her nose.

An awkward silence emerged between them and she suddenly realized she was actually speaking to him. He had actually answered the phone. She took advantage of the chance she had.

“Aiden just kissed me,” she said quickly, “I went out because I was stupid and he was there and he was drunk and I fell for it. I drove him home. He kissed me. He begged me to stay. Like actually stay. And he kissed me.”

She felt pathetic.

He didn’t ask if she was okay. He knew better.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he assured her.

“And you. You left. You just didn’t call back. What the fuck? You just left. Just like him.”

His voice sounded small when he replied. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, that’s what he said, too. You’re all the same, aren’t you? You all just get us in our feelings and fall for you, and then you just leave. You just leave. Always.”

“Aalia, listen, I’m not—“

“I don’t wanna hear your excuses. It’s my fault. I was stupid to even think this was a good idea. I don’t know you, you don’t know me. We’re complete strangers. We never had anything special.”

“No,” she heard him say firmly, “That’s not true.”

“How is it not true? You don’t even care enough to tell me your name!”

“It’s not true because I do know you and you do know me,” he said, “You know things about me that no one else knows. You know me better than even my own family. And I know you better than you think.”

“You know things like my favorite color and my favorite book,” she said, shaking her head, “Little, insignificant things.”

“Those little things matter more than you think, Aalia. They tell me how simple, yet complicated you are. How carefree, yet troubled you are.” He paused. “How beautiful you are.”

She couldn’t find words just yet.

“We’re not strangers. We’re all we have. You said I’m the only thing you looked forward to in your day. You said that in your first voicemail. Those were your exact words. And you know what, Aalia? You’re all I look forward to in my day either.”

“You left. You didn’t call for weeks,” she said quietly, “I don’t even know your name.” She rubbed her temple with her free hand.

“I’m not who you think I am,” he said, “I know that’s confusing and pathetic for me to say, but I don’t know how else to explain it. I’m different. It was wrong for me just to leave you hanging like that, but I was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?”

“Of everything, Aalia. Of everything,” he said, “All the things that could go wrong if I told you who I am. I can’t afford to lose you. I know I almost did and that’s my fault, but I feel this way about you that I’ve never felt about anyone I’ve ever met before.”

“You haven’t met me.”

“I feel like I have,” he said, “I feel like I’ve known you all my life.”

Aalia was quiet, wiping the remaining tears from her face.

“I know you’re hurting,” he said, “But I’m not like him.”

She convinced herself to stay strong. “What are we doing here exactly?”

“We’re talking.”

“You said we’re not strangers. Then what are we?”

He waited a few moments before speaking. “I don’t know. I don’t know yet.”

Aalia saw the bus driving towards her on the street. She wiped a finger under both of her eyes, catching her smudging eyeliner, and stood up.

“I have to go,” she said.

“No, please, don’t go.”

“I’ll call you later.” She hung up the phone as the bus stopped in front of her. She stepped on, unsure of what she was going to do.

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Aalia didn’t do what she had told him she would do. She didn’t call him later. She wasn’t sure what her life had become and if she wanted to pursue such an unstable relationship with him, if she could correctly call it a relationship. Friendship, maybe. Who knows?

She couldn’t stop thinking about her talk with him. Her heart beat rapidly against her chest every time she repeated his words in his mind. She wished so badly that it wasn’t so complicated.

The next day, she spent half the day in bed, not wanted to get up. She didn’t even care enough to turn her light on or open the curtains. She reached under her pillow and pulled out her phone, ignoring the low battery warnings and opening up her email. In her inbox sat a new message from Caroline:

“Aalia,
Call me as soon as you get this. It’s an emergency.
-Caroline”

Aalia wasted no time in dialing her best friend’s phone number.

“Aalia, thank God,” she heard Caroline’s voice on the other end only after two rings. She sounded breathless.

“What’s going on? I just got your email.”

Caroline sighed. “Aalia, I think I’m pregnant.”