OUR BOND

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Third Person POV

The following day, the house was just quiet.

Not silent - just... quieter than yesterday. The kind of quiet that settles after too many people have cried in the same place. Noel stayed in her room throughout all of it, curled up on her bed, scrolling through her phone even though she hasn't processed one single thing she looked at.

Her breakfast tray still sat untouched on her desk. She hadn't gone downstairs once.

A soft knock came at her door.

"Noel?"

A familiar voice. Too calm. Too steady for today.

Before she could answer, Brian cracked the door open and peeked in. When he saw her on the bed, his expression softened immediately. The room was dim, only the light from her phone screen lighting her face. She looked small. Withdrawn.

He stepped inside quietly and closed the door behind him.

Then he sat on the edge of her bed and gently nudged her ankle.

"Twinkle" he called out. That was the name only Brian called her, it was an accompanying name to her third name Starlight.

Hearing him, Noel froze for a second, then slowly lowered her phone and set it aside. She shifted up until her back pressed against the headboard and was facing Brian.

"It's good you came" she breathed out, rubbing her forehead, "because I've been meaning to tell you about Bright's weird behavior yesterday. That was.. out of the ordinary"

Brian tilted his head. "Why didn't you just come downstairs? You haven't left your room since"

Noel's eyes flickered away. Her fingers picked at the blanket.

"I'm not ready yet" she admitted quietly. "To feel what the mansion is like without Grandma"

Her voice cracked a bit - not enough to count as crying but enough that Brian's eyes softened.

Noel placed her palm against her chest, pressing it lightly as if she could stop the ache with her hand.

"My heart's been aching since yesterday" she said quietly. "Just thinking about not seeing her again is... a lot. Actually walking around the house without her?" she swallowed.

"That's more than I can deal with right now. So that's why I wanna stay in here, atleast for today"

Brian didn't say anything for a moment. He just scooted closer and bumped his shoulder gently against hers, like he used to do when she was little.

"My dear twinkle" he said softly. "you don't have to rush it. No one is expecting you to pretend like nothing happened. Grandma meant a lot to all of us, so it's gonna take time"

Hearing him mention how much her grandma meant to all of them, she realized she's been looking at what she was feeling and didn't once ask about her brothers, who were also affected.

"And how are you feeling?"

"Me? I dealt with it the day I found out. I'm still hurting but it's much better than before. It really does get better with time" Brian gently patted Noel's head with a lot of brotherly affection.

"I know it's gonna get better for you too, just do whatever it is you feel is releasing that pain, and one day it'll be less" Noel offered a subtle nod with a small smile which Brian returned.

"What were you saying about Uncle?" he asked, picking up the earlier thread.

Noel huffed. "I'll tell you. But trust me... It was weird. And I am not emotionally equipped to deal with Bright Wilson when he's acting wrong"