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By the time I got home, the street was quiet, the porch light casting soft yellow halos across the front steps. I shut the door behind me gently, trying not to wake anyone even though part of me knew at least one of my siblings would still be up. Our house never really slept.
I kicked off my shoes, phone still warm in my hand from the texts Trayvon had sent after dropping me off. He made me laugh hard. Like, cheeks hurt, can't breathe kind of laugh. And the way he looked at me in the car? Playful but focused, like I was the only thing he wanted to see in that moment.
It messed with me in the best way.
I was still kind of floating from it when I rounded the corner and nearly bumped into Genesis and Felix standing by the base of the stairs.
They were mid conversation. Felix had his arms crossed, leaned back against the wall, and Genesis looked like she was mid-sentence when they both turned toward me.
"Oh hey," I said, blinking at them.
"Hey," Genesis replied with a soft smile. "You're back late."
I shrugged, not really in the mood to give details.
"Yeah."
Felix didn't say anything, just gave me a quick once over, his expression unreadable.
I kept walking, brushing past them toward the stairs. "Night."
"You good?" Genesis asked behind me, her voice gentle but curious.
"Great," I muttered, not slowing down.
The silence behind me was heavy. I could feel their eyes on my back as I climbed the steps. I wasn't mad, not exactly but seeing Felix again, acting all chill like we didn't just have a blowout at school threw me off.
Genesis had probably been talking to him about it. Or trying to talk some sense into him. That's what she does.
But right now? I didn't care.
Let them sort it out. I was done chasing after people who didn't want help.
Still, once I was upstairs and in my room, the high from earlier started to fade. I set my phone on the nightstand and stared at the ceiling, the warmth of Trayvon's smile already starting to feel like a memory instead of something real.
Why did things always have to get complicated?
⸻
I wasn't in the mood to sit with my siblings at lunch. Not today. Genesis would give me that quiet, worried look, and Felix would pretend like everything was fine when it wasn't. I didn't want to deal with the weight of all that fake normal.
So instead, I slid into the far end of one of the outdoor tables where Sean was already munching on a bag of chips like he hadn't eaten in a week. He looked up when I sat down and grinned.
