The antiseptic sting of the hospital room was almost enough to keep Aiden distracted from the pulsing ache in his shoulder and ribs. Almost.
But what kept him sharp wasn't the pain—it was her.
Rosalie Hale sat in the corner chair like she didn't belong in any place built by human hands. Arms crossed, legs elegantly angled, her expression carved from ice. She hadn't said much since walking in. Just sat there, quiet and unreadable.
Aiden shifted in bed. "You come here to watch me breathe, or…?"
Her gaze lifted to meet his—cool, unwavering. "Just wanted to see how bad it was."
He snorted softly. "Well, I'm alive. Thanks for the concern."
Silence.
Then, with deliberate casualness, she said, "Funny, how fast things happen. One minute you're standing there, and the next, you're flying through the air."
His heart rate spiked just slightly. "Yeah," he replied carefully, eyes narrowed. "Weird how that happens."
She tilted her head. "You remember much?"
There it was. The first probe.
"Enough to know Tyler's a shitty driver," Aiden said, leaning back, expression unreadable. "Everything else is kind of a blur."
Rosalie didn't move, didn't blink. But he saw the flicker in her eyes—a calculation.
"You hit that lamppost pretty hard."
"Guess I'm tougher than I look."
A pause.
"I heard… You and Bella were both close to getting crushed." Her voice was level, neutral, but it wasn't a question. It was bait.
Aiden just shrugged. "Guess we're both lucky."
Another silence stretched out. It wasn't awkward—it was tense, like the stillness before a car skidded off the road. She was fishing without a hook, and he wasn't biting.
Before she could continue, the door banged open.
"Aiden!" Jessica's voice broke the tension like a wrecking ball. She and Angela rushed in, followed by Eric and Tyler, still in his unnecessary wheelchair, face red with guilt.
"Oh my God, you look terrible!" Jessica said brightly.
"Good to see you too," Aiden muttered, grateful for the interruption.
Angela waved from behind her camera. "You scared everyone."
"Especially Bella," Jessica added, nudging him like it was some kind of gossip-worthy moment.
Rosalie stood, her chair scraping softly as she moved.
"Well," she said, smooth and cold, "I'll let you recover."
Aiden looked up. Her eyes locked onto his one last time—just for a moment—and he couldn't tell if it was a warning, a challenge, or something else entirely.
Then she walked past Jessica and the others, pausing only to give a cool nod to Bella, who'd just stepped into the room.
Bella looked from Rosalie's back to Aiden, confused and cautious. "She was here?"
"Briefly," Aiden said.
Bella hesitated, then stepped in closer. "I just… I wanted to ask. At the crash—did you see…?"
He met her eyes, made his choice. "No."
Her face tightened. "But he was—"
"I didn't see anything, Bella," Aiden repeated. "Just headlights. Then black."
Bella looked frustrated, unconvinced. But she didn't push. Not yet.
As the conversation shifted back to Tyler's apology and Eric's awkward small talk, Aiden stayed quiet, mind replaying Rosalie's subtle interrogation.
She didn't confirm a thing.
She didn't have to.
She was testing him—and for now, he passed.
But something told him he wouldn't get a second chance to screw it up.