I woke up confused.

For a few seconds, I just stared at the ceiling.

Waiting for my brain to catch up.

The room looked familiar.

The pale blue walls.

The bookshelf in the corner.

The old desk covered in trophies I never cared about enough to throw away.

Home.

My childhood bedroom.

The realization settled slowly.

Mom's house.

Right.

I rolled onto my side and immediately reached for my phone.

Nothing.

No missed calls.

One text.

Lucas.

My chest tightened before I even opened it.

Glad you made it there safe.

That was it.

Nothing else.

No apology.

No explanation.

No I miss you.

I stared at the screen longer than I should have.

Then locked it.

Because I didn't know what I wanted him to say.

The truth?

I wasn't even sure what I wanted anymore.

I sat up slowly.

The room was quiet.

Not apartment quiet.

House quiet.

Different.

Safer.

Older.

Downstairs I could hear dishes clinking together.

The television.

My mom moving around the kitchen.

Normal sounds.

Sounds I grew up with.

Sounds I used to love.

So why did everything feel wrong?

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed.

The floor creaked immediately.

Some things never changed.

I rubbed my eyes and stood.

My hoodie was draped over the desk chair.

My backpack sat beside it.

Everything exactly where I'd left it last night.

And for some reason—

That made my chest hurt.

Because none of my stuff was supposed to be here anymore.

It was supposed to be back at the apartment.

With Lucas.

My stomach twisted.

No.

Don't do that.

Not first thing in the morning.

I grabbed my phone and headed downstairs.

The smell of coffee hit me halfway down.

Then bacon.

My mom looked up the second she heard me.

Relief crossed her face immediately.

Like she was checking to make sure I was still here.

Still okay.

"Morning, baby."

"Morning."

My voice sounded rough.

She slid a plate onto the table.

Already made.

Already waiting.

Like she'd known exactly when I'd come downstairs.

"Sleep okay?"

I hesitated.

"No."

She nodded.

Like she'd expected that answer.

Neither of us spoke for a minute.

I sat down.

Picked up my fork.

Put it back down.

My mom watched me carefully.

Not pushing.

Just watching.

The same way she'd been watching me since she picked me up yesterday.

Trying to figure out how much I was willing to tell her.

Trying to figure out how broken I actually was.

And honestly—

I wasn’t sure I knew the answer anymore.

“I don’t know what I’m doing, Mom.”

My voice sounded small.

Tired.

“I care about Lucas so much.”

My mom immediately looked concerned.

“What happened?”

I looked down at my plate.

Careful.

There was so much I couldn’t tell her.

The gun.

Ethan.

Dylan.

Everything.

“I did something reckless and it scared him.”

Her eyebrows pulled together.

“What did you do?”

I needed something believable.

Something close enough to the truth.

“I walked across campus by myself.”

“At night?”

“Yeah.”

My mom sighed immediately.

“Noah.”

“I know.”

“You know better than that.”

“I know.”

“And Lucas got upset?”

“He grabbed me by my shoulders.”

Her face immediately changed.

“What?”

“He wasn’t trying to hurt me.”

“Noah—”

“He wasn’t.”

I looked down at my hands.

“He just kept asking why I would do something like that.”

“Did he apologize?”

“Immediately.”

That answer came easy.

Because it was true.

“He looked horrified.”

The memory hit me again.

Lucas backing away.

Looking sick to his stomach.

Like he’d hurt himself instead.

“I just freaked out.”

My mom nodded slowly.

“And that’s why you’re here?”

“Yeah.”

“Distance.”

I blinked.

“What?”

“You wanted distance.”

She took a sip of her coffee.

“That’s why you called me.”

I looked down.

“Yeah.”

“Then he gave you distance.”

The words landed harder than I expected.

“He didn’t try to stop me.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

My mom smiled sadly.

“Because he knew you needed space.”

I stared at my plate.

The answer felt unfair.

Because it sounded right.

“But if he loves me like he says he does…”

The words came out before I could stop them.

My mom stayed quiet.

Waiting.

“Wouldn’t he have stopped me?”

She shook her head.

“Noah.”

I looked up.

“I think he loves you enough to let you go.”

My throat tightened.

Because somehow—

That sounded worse.

And better.

At the same time.

“I miss him.”

The confession slipped out before I could stop it.

My mom smiled softly.

“I know.”

“We’ve only been apart one day.”

“I know.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“It usually is.”

Despite myself—

I laughed.

Just a little.

My eyes drifted to my wrist.

The bracelet.

My thumb brushed across it automatically.

The movement made my chest ache.

Lucas.

The overlook.

The water.

The view.

The place that meant something to both of us.

The way he’d gotten down on one knee.

The way my heart nearly exploded out of my chest.

It wasn’t a proposal.

Not really.

But it felt close enough.

Close enough that I still couldn’t look at the bracelet without remembering every second of that day.

I’d worn it every day since.

Even now.

Even after yesterday.

Even after the fight.

Even after everything.

My fingers tightened around it.

“I’ve never done this before.”

My mom’s expression softened.

“Done what?”

“This.”

I gestured vaguely.

“Being with somebody.”

I laughed once.

A tired sound.

“I’ve never had a boyfriend before.”

The word still felt strange.

Boyfriend.

Lucas.

The same person.

“How am I supposed to know what’s normal?”

My mom leaned back in her chair.

“You’re eighteen.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“It wasn’t supposed to.”

That earned another tiny smile.

I looked back down at the bracelet.

“He was my best friend.”

My voice got quieter.

“He knew everything about me.”

My thumb traced the edge of the bracelet.

“Then one day it felt like he hated me.”

My mom nodded.

She remembered.

Of course she remembered.

She’d watched all of it happen.

“I spent years trying to hate him back.”

I swallowed.

“But I know why now.”

That got her attention.

“He told me he started pulling away because he realized he liked me.”

The words still felt strange to say out loud.

“Not as a friend.”

My chest tightened.

“He thought something was wrong with him.”

My mom’s face softened immediately.

“He grew up believing liking a guy was wrong.”

I stared at the bracelet.

“So instead of dealing with it, he pushed me away.”

The next words hurt.

“Then he started treating me like crap because being around me made it worse.”

My mom frowned.

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

“I know.”

And I did know.

“I’m not saying it was okay.”

I swallowed.

“I’m just saying I understand it now.”

My fingers tightened around the bracelet.

“Or at least I understand it more than I used to.”

The kitchen went quiet.

Then—

“Do you still want to be with him?”

There it was.

The question I’d been avoiding.

The one that actually mattered.

My fingers tightened around the bracelet.

Because the answer came immediately.

Too fast.

Too honestly.

“Yes.”

The word barely made it out.

My mom nodded.

Like she’d known before I did.

Then she reached across the table and squeezed my hand.

“Okay.”

Not good.

Not bad.

Just okay.

And somehow—

That felt harder to argue with.

A little while later I found myself sitting on the edge of my old bed.

Alone.

The house was quiet again.

My backpack sat where I’d dropped it.

My phone rested beside me.

The bracelet was still wrapped around my wrist.

I looked around the room.

At everything that used to feel like home.

Then I thought about the apartment.

The couch.

The kitchen.

The way Lucas always made coffee before I woke up.

The way he’d look up when I walked into a room.

The way he said my name.

My chest tightened.

I already knew where I wanted to be.

I grabbed my phone.

Then stood.

A few minutes later I found my mom in the living room.

She looked up immediately.

“You ready?”

I nodded.

“Yeah.”

A smile appeared on her face.

“Let’s go take you home.”

When we got to the apartment, it was empty.

Good.

That meant Lucas was at training.

I wasn’t ready to see him yet.

Not immediately.

I unpacked my bag.

Put everything back where it belonged.

My clothes.

My books.

My charger.

Little pieces of my life returning to where they were supposed to be.

Hours passed.

The apartment stayed quiet.

I ended up curled on the couch with a book.

Trying to read.

Mostly failing.

Then the front door opened.

I looked up.

Lucas froze.

His phone slipped from his hand and hit the floor.

For a second—

He just stared.

Like he wasn’t completely sure I was real.

“Noah…”

His voice broke.

“H-hey.”

I stood.

Immediately nervous.

“I…”

The apology never made it out.

Lucas crossed the room so fast I barely had time to react.

Then his arms were around me.

Holding me tightly.

Not too tight.

Just enough.

Like letting go wasn’t an option.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Don’t.”

His voice came out rough.

“I’m the one who should be saying that.”

I swallowed.

“Please.”

I rested my forehead against his shoulder.

“I forgive you.”

His grip tightened slightly.

Not enough to hurt.

Just enough to feel.

“I know what I did was reckless.”

“Yeah.”

“I just wanted to talk to you.”

The confession felt embarrassingly honest.

Lucas let out a shaky breath.

“I know.”

“But you were so mad.”

He pulled back just enough to look at me.

“Noah.”

His eyes searched mine.

“Do you know how far I’d go to keep you safe?”

“I… don’t know.”

“I’d give my life for yours.”

The words hit me like a punch.

My fingers immediately found the bracelet again.

The one he’d gotten down on one knee to give me.

The one I’d refused to take off.

Suddenly my chest felt too tight.

“Lucas.”

His expression softened immediately.

“What?”

“I’d be devastated if you gave up your life for mine.”

For the first time since he’d walked through the door—

A small smile appeared.

“And I’d be destroyed if anything happened to you.”

I bought up my fist. I couldn’t hold back anymore. 

“Lucas…”

“Yes.”

I broke. 

“How did you expect me to just wait for you to show up! You would have done the same thing!”

I was yelling at him. I never yelled at him.

He didn’t flinch. Just stared at me. 

“I know…”

He agreed. 

“Maybe I’m just a pathetic hypocrite.” 

“I understand why you’d be upset I really do but you treat me like I’m fragile.”

“You are so important to me, Noah.”

His voice was quieter now.

Tired.

Honest.

“I can’t help it.”

I opened my mouth.

He shook his head.

“You’re the most important person in my life.”

I felt my eyes water.

“I know…”