The things we almost were

mething inside me started to burn. His

eatures, eyes that could've belonged to anyo

own breathing filling the silence between us. Before I could stop m

al. He stumbled, caught himself against the wall, and w

else I couldn't place. "Why?" I hissed, my voice trembling with rage

d at the ground like he was searching for

"I guess you don't really understand what's goi

him." He lifted his head then, meeting my eyes. Ther

ietly. "He used me. Exploited me. Forced me into it. You thi

ck hitting concrete echoing in the room. My fingers twisted i

're trying to save your ass by dragging my dad into this

me over to the cops, and I'll hand them something bigger. I'll expose your dad -

tepping forward once I loosened my grip, "you can let me go. I'll di

oice in my head, the one that sounded too much like my own whisp

ff his friend's death like it was

d got nothing but silence. Pieces of a puzzle I d

almost soft now. "Think about it, Kaelin," he said. "If I go down, you

ou the same again once he knows what

loser, too close, lowering his voice until I could feel his

head pounded. I couldn't breathe past the noise of everything

hroat burning. "Just... get the fuck out of my face," I managed

before slipping into the darkness like smoke. And just like that, he was go

t through the noise. "Kae!" I turned as he rushed toward me, eyes wide wi

nk of what to say. My mind was spinning too fast. "Where is he?"

t him. He ran off through the back." The officer cursed under h

by the second. "Hey, Kae..." His voice dropped, soft and careful. "

ng closer. "Do you really expect me to b

e air between us went tight, thick with unspoken things. "Kae," he said

ice echoing off the empty walls. "Just-lea

urt worse than anything else. I turned before he could see the

ehind me. By the time I reached my car, my hands were trem

eady. I took a drag, exhaled slow, and let the first tear fall. I'd lost control of ev

***

d, the familiar sound of my mom's relentless phone c

cringe, and today, I could sense the tension in her v

ough the morning air like a knife. With a resigned sigh, I trudged

into my usual spot, the chair's slight wobb

steal a glance at my mom. Her brow furrowed and lips pursed, sh

I felt a smirk creeping onto my f

r tempers as they get older?" I ventured

have burned through steel

exaggerated flick of my wrist, I dropped my spoon into the bow

shouted after me, her irritation s

my ground, or retreat to the safety of my room? The question hung

le escaped me as I made my way up to my sanctuary,

g a thrill of excitement through me. I fished it

an for the evening, and with a renewed sense of anticipation, I bounded

ome increasingly irritable, reactin

sformed into endless phone calls that seem to drain he

sponsibilities weigh heavily on her without Dad being ar

decision-making and endless meetings, leaving little room for t