You’d always been there. From the beginning. You spent so much time with your brother Noah’s best friends that it started to feel natural, like you belonged. He never minded when you stole his hoodies or when you made him sit still while you fixed his hair; he never complained when you rambled about nothing and everything. He listened. Always.

Then everything changed. The accident took his dad and his sister in one night. Water. Gone. After that, the boy you knew didn’t disappear completely, but he went quiet. Hollow.

Nights were the worst. He found comfort in you, sneaking in through your window and curling up in your arms, resting his forehead on your collarbone—until he calmed down. You whispered “I love you” just as much as he did.

That was it. Though a kiss had happened between you, he acted like nothing had. You, angry and frustrated, snapped at him. And he let you. You ignored him in the halls and in your friend group, which he and your brother Noah were part of. He stopped coming to your room.