"Worse," I confirmed.
"He's downstairs telling everyone the party's over," Maddox reported. "And he told Sebastian that if he says one word about this to anyone, Aaron will personally make sure he never starts another game."
At least there was that. Sebastian's mouth would stay shut, at least for now.
"What do we do?" Rosalie asked, looking between them.
"You give him time," Max said gently. "Let him process. He'll be angry for a while, but he loves both of you. Eventually, that will win out."
"And in the meantime?" I asked.
"In the meantime, you focus on Westpoint. You play your game. You show him that this thing between you and Rosie doesn't affect your ability to be a team player." Max's expression was serious. "That's the only way you start to earn back his trust."
I nodded, even though the idea of stepping onto that field with Aaron hating me felt impossible.
"Come on," Maddox said to Rosie. "Let's get you home. Daisy's waiting outside."
Rosie looked at me, her eyes asking if I'd be okay. We could have spent the night together in my room, but with Aaron’s wound so fresh, it wouldn't have been cool.
Instead of begging her to stay, I kissed her forehead. "Go. I'll call you later."
She nodded and let Maddox lead her away.
Alone with Max, I finally let myself feel the full weight of what had just happened.
"I fucked up," I said quietly.
"Yeah, you did." Max's honesty was brutal but necessary. "But you also fell in love. And sometimes love makes us do stupid things."
"He'll never forgive me."
"He will. Eventually." Max gripped my shoulder. "But first, you have to forgive yourself. And you have to prove to him that Rosie's worth it. That she's worth risking your friendship."
"She is," I said without hesitation.
"Then show him. Not with words, words are cheap right now. Show him with actions. Be there for him even when he pushes you away. Support the team even when it's hard. And love his sister the way she deserves to be loved."
I nodded, knowing Max was right but not sure how I was going to survive the next few days.
The party was officially over, people streaming out into the night. I helped clean up automatically, my mind elsewhere.
I'd done what we'd planned. I'd told Aaron the truth.
And now I had to live with the consequences.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ROSALIE
I didn't sleep that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Aaron's face, the hurt, the betrayal, the anger. I'd replayed the conversation a thousand times, searching for something I could have said differently, some way I could have made him understand.
But there was no magic combination of words that would have made it okay. Derek and I had lied, and Aaron had every right to be furious.
My phone had been silent. No texts from Aaron. No calls. Just deafening silence that felt worse than any angry message.
Not even the usual playlists could sooth my racing mind.
Derek had texted around 2 AM:
