The roof is cool under my palms when I settle next to him, close enough to feel the trembling he probably thinks he’s hiding.Our shoulders almost touch, like they used to, like they remember even when we forget.
Sunrises always hit different than sunsets because sunrises feel like you’re being handed a blank page whether you want it or not.
Jake needs a blank page and so do I.
We sit in silence for a long moment.I can hear him trying to breathe evenly.Trying not to break, trying to pretend he hasn’t already.
“Remember when we used to come up here and throw water balloons at Ollie?”Jake asks, voice so soft it barely makes it to me.
I’d forgotten about that, that’s when the memories start to hit.Childhood summers, secret missions, hours spent talking about everything and nothing.Back when the roof was our hideout, our headquarters, our sanctuary.
Before we knew what real danger was.
“Yeah,” I say.My voice comes out rough.“You had terrible aim.”
“Did not.”
“You hit the neighbour's cat more than Ollie.”
He huffs a laugh—and it’s a sound I’d forgotten about too.Because that’s my brother, the real one.
Not the version Scott shaped.
Not the version I lost.
Just Jake.
“That cat hated me.”
“Well yeah, I wonder why.”
The laughter dies too quickly, though, and the silence that follows is heavier.Full of the things he’s afraid to say.Full of the weight he’s been carrying alone.
“What do I do, Nate?”he whispers.
The protective instinct slams into me so hard I almost sway.He’s my little brother and I would burn the world down to keep him safe.
“You tell me everything,” I say, voice steady even though I feel like I’m balancing on the edge of a knife.“Everything he made you do.Everything he made you hide.Everything he twisted to make you feel like you owed him.”
“Nate…” His voice shakes.“If he finds out?—”
That fear—Scott’s fear—sets something dark and ancient simmering under my skin.
I put a hand on Jake’s shoulder, grounding him.
Grounding myself.
“He won’t.Not until we’re ready.And this?None of this is your fault.”
He shakes his head hard, like he can’t believe that.But I look him in the eyes, and I tell him the truth anyway.
“Jake, the only mistake you made was wanting your father to love you.”
And oh, I know that lesson.
Carved it into my bones long before Jake ever got the chance.
He nods, trembling.
