The Cabin

✨ Chapter Six

I wake up at five, same as always. The cabin is quiet, still wrapped in the kind of early morning hush that makes it feel like I'm the only person alive. I move carefully, heading to the bathroom to get ready, already running through the list of things I need to do before Owen helps me finish the roof later.

I throw on a hoodie—the black one I tried to give him yesterday—before stopping at the window. The lake is glassy, undisturbed, the sky a solid, heavy gray.

It's going to rain today. I can smell it in the air.

I smile to myself, thinking about Owen in my high school hoodie. Owen with that ridiculous, terrified look on his face when we tried to catch the cat. Owen's eyes when he cried over it, so full of emotion it made my chest ache. The way he looked at me when I touched his hair on the roof, like he wasn't used to someone being that gentle with him.

Owen keeps talking about color theory, about prisms and transitions in the sky, but his eyes—they're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Fuck—coffee and weights. Right.

I'm losing my goddamn mind in this cabin.

I head to the kitchen, starting the coffee maker before downing a glass of water, then slip outside to lift. The air is thick with humidity, the scent of damp earth and pine surrounding me as I go through my usual stretches. A loon calls somewhere in the distance, its cry eerie in the still morning.

By the time I'm done, I head back inside, surprised to see Mrs. Miller awake, sipping coffee by the window.

"Good morning, Julian."

"Morning," I say, grabbing my own cup and sitting beside her.

"Owen's still asleep," she says, smiling. "I was feeling good this morning, so I got up without him. He needs all the rest he can get. That kid never stops."

I huff a small laugh, nodding. "Yeah. He doesn't."

She looks out at the lake, then back at me. "Do you like it here, Julian?"

I glance out the window, at the peacefulness of the place I've been slowly making my own. "Yeah. I do."

Mrs. Miller gives me a warm smile. "Thank you for inviting us over. You're a sweet boy."

I almost choke on my coffee. Sweet boy. Asshole. Neighbor. Friend. I have no idea what the hell I am anymore.

"Thanks," I mutter.

We sit in comfortable silence for a while, watching the sunrise, the sky shifting from gray to soft gold. I take another sip of coffee, my gaze flickering over to the cat fort. "Has the cat come out yet?"

"No, not yet." Mrs. Miller hesitates. "Julian, can I tell you something? I'm a little worried about my son."

I frown, looking at her. "Why?"

She exhales, staring down at her coffee. "He tries to save everything. It's not healthy. He takes it on like it's his responsibility... but not everything can be saved, Julian." She pauses. "One day, I won't be here anymore. And I worry about Owen, about how he'll handle that."

Something tightens in my chest. I think about yesterday, about Owen crying over the cat.

"He cares too much," I say.

She smiles sadly. "He sure does. That's why I worry." Then she looks at me, eyes knowing. "He's really fond of you, Julian."

My whole body goes tense, and my grip tightens around my coffee mug.

"I think," she adds, amused, "he may have a little crush on you."

I bite the inside of my cheek. If that's true, then why the hell is he always trying to push me toward Lewis?