y see you a

bricks. He wouldn' t meet my eyes, staring instead at the half-empty beer bottle on the table b

face. It felt brittle, like it mi

adlines, family dinners. We were Ava and Ethan, a single unit in everyone' s mind. I had let myself believe tha

dden feelings, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm ag

a f

ly a whisper. "After all this time, a

ty I didn' t want. "Those moments were great. You'

t was a box he was putting me in, a safe, comfo

and we were tangled in fairy lights, laughing. He' d reached out and tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear, his fingers

vie. Now, I saw it for what it was: a casual gesture from a friend. Nothing more. My

y against the floor. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't sit

" I mumbled, g

the press of bodies and the loud music. The cold night air hit me as I burst

ntil the city lights blurred

and down with a smirk. "Hey, what'

ome. I just shook my head and

probably never would. All those years, I was just a comfortable hab

d past Ethan' s name, my thumb hovering over it for a

topped on a

r brother. He was always there, a quiet, steady constant in the backgrou

second ring. "Av

hrough my mind. I remembered a sketchbook from high school, filled with doodles for graphic design project

d been at my apartment. He' d picked up that exact sketch

h as he reached

something unreadable. He didn' t say a word about it. He just closed the bo

ledgment, a shared secret. Now I knew. It was just another mo