When Gratitude Turns Bitter

t this. I want

e steady. The program director for the international aid mission

a two-year commitment in a conflict zone. I

er a sear

r hands resting calmly in he

ss, but she wouldn't let i

t her resolve. "Alright. The team departs in

She stepped out of the building and onto the busy city street. The afternoon s

her like a p

ded by smoke and heat. The smell of burning wood filled her nose, and the roar of

d the ceiling groaning, a heavy beam crashing

A young man, barely more than a boy himself, hi

va

as he ran back out into the night. He held her tight, his uniform rough agai

ame the foundati

s family was like a second family to her. After the fire, it was only natural t

She never called him "brother,"

too long, he'd buy it for her. He taught her how to ride a bike, helped her with homework, and s

owly, quietly changed into something else. Something deeper. She

by cheap champagne and the foolish courage of youth, she found him in the s

, her lips close to h

ly pried her arms off him and stood up, turning to face her.

you're

heart starting to pound. "I

rp. "I am your brother. Your guar

nly ever called her Ava

he cried, the words tumbling out. "

ace a mask of disappointment. "This is ju

shouted, tears welling i

leaving her alone with her shattered heart. After that night,

ix things or help her move on. It did neither. The distance only made the

e, on his birthday, on Christmas, she would fin

love yo

n, he would shut her down. "Ava,

stant, painful beat in

his year would be different. She wouldn't confess. She wouldn't push. Sh

ought som

iful and sophisticated, with a confident smile that

gs. She watched them together, saw the way he looked at Sophia, a look of open affec

The walls were thin. She lay in the dark, listening to the soft murm

ounds of intimacy that were like

n't block it out. She cried until she couldn't bre

pped. An eerie calm settled over her. She knew, with a certainty that chilled her to the

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