You and Everything After

chapter 30: Tiny Pieces

Chapter song: 21- Gracie Abrams
Dedication: anemoi00 _Nanz_ HeatherSmith672
Stella POV:

I ran so fast, stopping in front of his car and he pressed the brakes making the car shriek. I slammed my hands on the car's front locking gazes with him before he got out. "What the hell were you thinking? How do you stop in front of a moving car?" He yelled, his face burning with worry and anger.

His eyes then softened only a little bit. "Are you okay?" He rushed towards me but his hand froze just inches away from my shoulders before he dropped them at his sides in fists.

"What is wrong with you, Aiden? Those pictures I saw weren't real. Tell me you weren't hanging around with a bunch of girls. Say something please."

"That was me. The bad boy you always told me I was. You shouldn't be surprised."

I swallowed against the rising bile in the back of my throat. "What happened to you? You aren't acting like yourself. What is wrong?" I shouted, throwing my hands in the air and he looked away with a hard swallow before turning back to me.

"Are you done? Is there anything else you want to say before I leave?" I opened my mouth but no words came out. A shudder rolled through me and my stomach twisted with pain as I watched him walk back to his car.

Tears pooling in my eyes, I rushed and slammed the driver's door with my back to it. "You aren't going anywhere." His gaze remained unchanged, raw hurt that I didn't understand marked his features.

"Claire gave those to me. Our dating list. She tried to convince me that you gave them to her but I... "

"I gave them to her."

Air expelled from my lungs. I couldn't find what to say as I searched his face for his usual smirks and teasing but nothing was there but a frown. "You didn't. You couldn't. I don't believe you." I pressed my lips together, whispering the words out.

"Move, Stella."

"Why are you lying? What happened to you that's forcing you to act this way? We were fine last night. We always were!" he snatched the paper from my hold then tore it into tiny pieces then threw them in the air around me. I suck in a sharp breath as I watched the paper fall to my feet while a tear slipped down my cheeks.

"The whole dating thing was fake from the start and you know pretty well that I don't do relationships. I was trying to protect you and it's over now." His voice sank low and I felt rooted to my place, too much hurt swelling in my chest. "You could go back to Andrews now. Nothing is stopping you. Go back to him and leave me the hell alone, for good."

"What are you talking about?"

He held my hand and moved me, gently yet firmly away from his car and I wrapped my hands around myself while watching him get in. It felt like everything was shattering into tiny pieces like the papers around. I must have heard something wrong. I heard the engine start and he didn't even turn to me as he drove away. I slipped down on the ground and a choked sob escaped me.
Someone helped me up to my shoulders and I glanced upwards at Xavier that had his mouth in a thin line, his eyes softening.

"He just left me alone. He's gone." I cried and I don't remember how I made it to his car or how the scenery passed by. All I remember is his expression that remained unchanged.

                                      ***

It's been two days since Aiden tore our dating list to shred, tearing my heart along with it. No phone calls and zero texts. He left me alone in the parking with no explanation for why he treated me like that. I wanted to call him countless nights but stopped myself and turned my phone off. I did nothing that deserved to be treated that way by him. He didn't even show up at the new bakery's opening and wasn't here today either at Christmas Eve.