Their Little Sunshine

[36] The First Crack

Third Person P.O.V.

It was Tuesday evening, Kiara had just finished her homework for the day and was laying on her bed staring at the ceiling. Her mind was too focused on the activities of the previous days. She visited Asher. It was still hard to believe that he was here in Italy.

She couldn't ignore the tension that lingered in the room yesterday when she mentioned about Beau , her and Asher's dog, but she didn't knew what to say about it.

She wasn’t sad.
She wasn’t happy either.

She felt… full in a way. And unsettled.

Her brothers wanted to know how it went.

That, more than anything, told her everything.

David who had come to pick her up drove with his usual precision, one hand on the wheel, posture straight, eyes forward. Too controlled. Too aware. The kind of silence that wasn’t empty, it was observant.

Kiara didn’t knew how to fill it then.

She breathed out taking a pillow throwing it at the foot of the bed before laying on her stomach there. She replayed moments instead: Oriana’s arms around her, Farah’s tears, Henry’s steady presence. Asher standing slightly apart, letting her have those moments, watching her like she might disappear again if he blinked.

She remembered when they reached the house, the gates opened smoothly, guards nodding as the car passed through. Home.

The word felt heavier now. It always did.

Kiara rolled onto her side, hugging the pillow closer to her chest. The ceiling fan hummed softly above her, steady, rhythmic, too calm for the storm of thoughts circling her mind.

Beau.

The name echoed again, unwanted and sharp.

Beau wasn’t just a dog.

Beau was late nights in the backyard.
Beau was laughter through tears.
Beau was comfort when words failed.

Beau was proof that there had once been a before.

And Kiara didn’t know how to explain that to anyone without breaking something open.

She pressed her face into the pillow, breathing slowly.

Her brothers hadn’t asked about Beau.

They hadn’t asked about Asher either-not really.

They’d asked how it went.

A vague question. A safe one.

As if details were dangerous.

As if knowing too much would confirm something they were already afraid of.

Kiara stared at the wall now, tracing invisible patterns with her eyes. She had realised it, she has started loving her brothers-fiercely, unquestioningly. They had taken her in, protected her, surrounded her with care so intense it sometimes felt like armor.

But armor was heavy.

And Asher had never treated her like something fragile that needed guarding.

He’d treated her like someone who could stand on her own.

That difference sat in her chest, uncomfortable and undeniable.

She shifted again, sitting up this time, her back against the headboard. Her room was quiet, the kind of quiet that usually soothed her. Tonight, it felt too loud.