Theo didn’t hesitate. “I can get you space today.”
My chest tightened. “Today?”
“Yes,” he said like it was obvious. “You can’t run this out of someone’s apartment. It’s not safe. It’s not sustainable. And it’s not fair to you.”
I stared at Daniel, my throat suddenly burning. Daniel gave me a small, satisfied nod, like he’d known Theo would say that.
Theo continued, “Audrey’s with me. We’ll take the first flight out. Text me the address. I’ll rent something close, six months to start. You can tell me to fuck off if you hate it, but I’m doing it anyway.”
“Six months?” I repeated, stunned. No, no, no.
“You’re not a hobby, Em,” Theo said, voice softening. “You’re a business. Let me do one thing that actually helps. Let meinvest in your vision. We all know this is what you want to do, so stop being stubborn, and let me do this. Let me and Audrey invest inyou.”
I couldn’t speak for a second. My eyes went hot, and I hated myself for it because tears were inconvenient, and I didn’t have time. But my brother saying that like investing in my dream was simple knocked something loose inside me.
Daniel leaned closer to the phone. “Also, we need a couple of extra people for packing and cutting. Do you have anyone? Friends? Assistants? Literally any human with hands?”
Theo exhaled once. “I can call a few people. I’ll figure it out. Please don’t panic.”
I wanted to laugh because that was a ridiculous request. I also wanted to hug him, and I didn’t know what to do with that combination of feelings.
“Okay,” I managed to say. “Thank you.”
“Text me,” Theo said, and then, after a beat, he said, “And Em? I’m proud of you. We both are.”
The call ended, and I stared at the blank screen like it had punched me.
Daniel leaned back, satisfied. “See? Easy.”
“It was not easy,” I said, voice rough. “It was… a lot.”
He softened, just a little. “Yeah,” he admitted. “But it was necessary. The days of you trying this thing in secret are over, probably because you were afraid of really trying because our dear father is an ass, but we’re behind you. Look at this? Theo, Audrey, me, and Noah? We are rooting for you. Now do the damn thing, Em.”
We started working.
We printed order batches and taped them to the wall in rough sections. We sorted by base garment first, because chasing individual orders across a pile was a good way to lose your mind. We laid out patch bundles in labeled bins, because tiny pieceswent missing fast. I set up my machine at the window, adjusted the tension, threaded it twice because I was shaking, and then forced my hands to steady.
The first few stitches were clumsy. My fingers didn’t feel like mine. My head was too full. But then I fell into the rhythm I’d lived in for years, the one place I never had to pretend. Stitch, pivot, cut thread. Press seam. Lay patch. Stitch again. Focus.
Daniel ran logistics. He checked orders off, updated customers with a mass email about “shipping waves,” and added a note about how each piece was handmade and would arrive in the order received. He created a new checkout pause for “limited slots” so the bleeding would stop. He handled the messages that came in angry or confused, and he did it with a calmness no eighteen-year-old should have.
By mid-morning, the trash bins were already filling. Bits of backing paper, thread snips, plastic sleeves from patches. My shoulders burned, and my lower back ached. I forced myself to drink water anyway. I forced myself to take a bite of a granola bar even though I wasn’t hungry, because hunger had never stopped me from collapsing before.
The door opened a little after noon, and my whole body reacted before my brain did. Relief hit first, then warmth, then the ache of wanting him near me. Noah walked in carrying two paper bags, a plastic bag of ice, and the kind of smile that made my chest feel too small for my heart.
He looked tired. Not exhausted the way he had after the game but worn in a way I recognized now. The kind of tired that came from worrying but still showing up. His hair was damp like he’d showered. He wore a hoodie and sweats and looked like a man who could run through a wall if he needed to.
“I come bearing offerings,” he announced, kicking the door shut behind him with his heel.
Daniel stood up immediately. “Oh my god,” he said, like he’d forgotten Noah lived here.
Noah’s mouth twitched. “Hey, man.”
Daniel made a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a choke. “Hi. Hello. You’re still stacked.”
Noah blinked, then looked at me like,is he always like this?
I shook my head slightly, smiling despite myself.
