Where Love Lingers

Prologue

Ava

The treehouse used to feel safe. It was the one place where everything made sense, where my world wasn't fractured. Up here, I could pretend it was still like the old days, before things got complicated. Before Dad started looking at me like I didn't belong. Before my brother, Ethan, and my sister, Lucy, stopped talking to me unless they had to.

I ran my fingers over the rough wood of the floor, tracing the carvings we'd made years ago. Tyler had been the one who came up with the idea—he'd wanted us to etch our names into the treehouse, as if it would make us all stay connected forever. I smiled bitterly at the faded initials: A, E, L, T. Back then, we were inseparable. Now, I was lucky if they even remembered I existed.

"Hey, Ava!" Ethan's voice drifted up from below, full of impatience. "Are you coming down or not?"

I glanced down through the slats in the floor. Ethan stood at the base of the tree, hands on his hips, looking annoyed like he always did these days. Tyler stood next to him, spinning a football in his hands like he didn't have a care in the world. And there was Lucy, sitting on a rock nearby, brushing her long, perfect hair like she wasn't aware of how pretty she was—or maybe she was. Tyler sure seemed to notice.

I hugged my knees to my chest, pretending I couldn't hear them. I didn't want to go down there, not when Tyler would barely look at me. Not when Lucy had his attention. It had been this way for months now—Tyler and Ethan hanging out, Lucy tagging along, and me... always watching from the outside.

"She's not coming," Lucy said, her voice lilting, like she found the whole thing amusing. She flicked her hair over her shoulder, her eyes locked on Tyler. "She never does anymore."

Tyler grinned, tossing the football into the air and catching it smoothly. "Can you blame her? She's probably sick of you, Luce."

Lucy giggled, the sound sharp in my ears. I watched her, biting the inside of my cheek. She wasn't the same Lucy I grew up with. Neither of us were. Ever since Dad told them why Mom died—how it was my fault—things had shifted. Lucy wasn't just my sister anymore; she was someone who blamed me for something I couldn't change. Ethan, too. And Tyler... well, Tyler barely noticed me at all anymore. He only saw Lucy.

I swallowed hard, blinking back the tightness in my throat. It shouldn't have hurt as much as it did, but I couldn't help it. Tyler had always been part of my world, ever since I could remember. He and Ethan had been best friends forever, and we'd all grown up together. But somewhere along the way, my feelings had changed. I didn't know when it happened, but Tyler had stopped being just "Tyler." He'd become someone I looked at differently, someone who made my heart race when he smiled, even if that smile was never for me.

"Come on, Ava," Ethan called again, more impatient now. "We're going to the lake."

Lucy stood up, smoothing her clothes, the perfect picture of confidence. She glanced at Tyler, her smile playful. "Think you can keep up, Ty?"

He laughed, eyes sparkling with the same energy he always had. "You kidding? I'll beat you there."

I watched as Lucy started walking down the path, Tyler falling into step beside her. Ethan followed a few paces behind, already talking about some plan they had for the afternoon. None of them looked back.

I stayed in the treehouse, my chest heavy with the familiar ache that came every time they left me behind. I could hear their laughter echo through the trees as they disappeared toward the lake, Lucy's giggle rising above the rest, and Tyler's voice—warm and carefree—right beside hers.

I couldn't move. I didn't want to. What was the point of going with them when Tyler didn't even see me anymore? Not really. His eyes were always on Lucy. She was the one who caught his attention, the one who made him laugh, who he looked at like she was the only person in the world.

And I was just... me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my fingers gripping the edge of the platform. It wasn't fair. None of it was. I didn't ask for Mom to die. I didn't ask for any of this. But somehow, I was the one who had to pay for it. Dad wouldn't look at me, Ethan barely spoke to me, and Lucy... Lucy made sure I knew, every single day, that I didn't belong.

And Tyler?

Tyler was the worst. Because he didn't even know what he was doing to me—how much it hurt to see him with Lucy, how I wished, just once, he'd look at me the way he looked at her.

I wiped at my eyes quickly, angry at myself for being so stupid. Tyler was never going to see me that way. I was just the girl in the background, Ethan's quiet sister, the one everyone avoided because I reminded them of what they lost.

A cold breeze stirred the leaves above, and I shivered, pulling my sweater tighter around me. Down by the lake, I could hear the faint sound of voices—Tyler's laugh rising above the rest. My heart squeezed again, the same ache that had been there for months now, ever since I realized I was in love with him.

But it didn't matter. He didn't love me. He didn't even notice me.

And that was the hardest part of all.