If I Stayed | Christian Yu

CHAPTER THREE - WELCOME BACK DINNER

Everything about it screamed home.
And that made it worse.

"You sure you don't wanna bounce?" Malik teased as he parked across the street.

"I can say I lost you in traffic. Very believable."

Christian didn't even smile. His hand hovered near the door handle like it needed permission.

"He's in his head again," Kenji said, leaning forward from the backseat.

"Clock's ticking, Romeo. You wanna die in this Hyundai or go be awkward in real life?"

Christian rolled his eyes, but the way his stomach twisted? Yeah, awkward was guaranteed.

He stepped out into the warm evening air.

Tried to breathe through the nerves, the memories, the everything.

The front door was open, voices already spilling out - Mr. Morales's laugh, Mrs. Morales's music playing from the kitchen, someone clinking dishes together. Familiar. Loud. Comforting.

And then, like the universe had a sick sense of timing; he saw her.

Aaliyah.

She stepped out from the hallway just past the front window. Laughing. Holding a wine glass. Head thrown back like she hadn't aged a day, like she was still that girl who used to steal fries off his plate and never say sorry.

His heart actually stuttered.

She hadn't seen him yet. She was mid-convo with someone - maybe her mom, maybe Fabian - didn't matter. Because for a split second, all Christian could do was look.

Her curls were longer now. Skin glowing, eyes lit up, nails done in a soft color he couldn't name but already loved. And that laugh... god, he forgot how much he missed that sound.

"You breathing?" Malik asked beside him.

"I think so."

"You want us to go in first?"

Christian shook his head. "No. I've got it."

A beat.

"Hey," he said, voice low, casual, way more chill than he felt.

"Hey," she breathed back.

And that was it.

The whole world shrank.

Right there in the doorway, in the soft light of her childhood home, everything came rushing back.

And he knew, deep down, he wasn't ready for this.

~~

[Aaliyah.] Doorways and Déjà Vu.

She was laughing at something her mom said when it happened.

Just finished sipping her wine, still mid-smile, when the door creaked - and the air changed.

She turned casually at first.

Just to see who came in.

And then she froze.

Christian.

Standing in the doorway like he hadn't just been gone for almost a year. Hoodie off, curls messier than usual, that chain she used to tug at still resting on his chest like it belonged there.

He looked... older. Softer in the eyes. A little tired, but still him - that same quiet energy that always made her feel seen without saying a word.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the wine glass. Her chest? A mess.

"Hey," he said, low and too calm.

Her throat suddenly felt dry.

"Hey."

It was all she could get out.

For a second, it was like the room disappeared. The smell of food, her mom's playlist, the sound of her dad laughing with Malik in the kitchen - it all faded. All she could hear was the pulse in her ears and the echo of his voice from the last time they spoke.

Eleven months ago.

"Take care of yourself, alright?"

"You too."

That was it.

No closure. No fight. Just distance.

And now he was standing in her doorway like he still fit here.

Like nothing had changed.

Except everything had.

She was engaged now. Christian was just a friend.
Just a friend.
Just.

She forced herself to move - step forward, smile, breathe like she wasn't about to unravel.

"Didn't think you'd actually show," she said, pretending her voice wasn't shaking.

He smirked. "Didn't think your mom would still have that plant by the door."

Her smile cracked a little wider. He noticed that?

Of course he did.

He always noticed the little things.

From across the room, her dad waved him in. "Christian! You made it! Come in, come in, we've got way too much food."

He stepped in, Malik and Kenji trailing behind him, the energy shifting like gravity had tilted. Christian glanced at her one more time - soft, unreadable - before letting himself get pulled into the house.

Aaliyah just stood there for a second longer.

Staring at the door he walked through.

Holding her wine glass like it was the only thing keeping her upright.