Chapter 002: The Homecoming

Hayley.

It's been a long, tenuous week since my breakup with Theo. After spending the first four days sobbing in bed, I've finally decided to keep myself busy around the house—anything to stop thinking about him, even if that feels nearly impossible.

I'm in the middle of helping my mom set the table for dinner when she brings up conversation.

“You're excited to see Axel, aren't you?”

I pause from tucking in the chairs and glance up at her in confusion. “Huh?”

She keeps her focus on the table, smoothing out a napkin. “I’m pretty sure he's already on his way here.”

My heart skips a beat. “Axel’s coming here? Tonight?”

My mom glances at me, a little puzzled. “Yes, baby. I thought we talked about this. After everything that happened with his parents, you know... how he’d be coming to stay with Lucas?” She sets down a clean mug, watching me with concern.

And just then, I remember. We did talk about this. Axel Grey—my childhood best friend and next-door neighbor—was returning to Greystone. After losing both his parents, he was coming back to start over.

“Oh, yes, Mom. I remember,” I mutter, letting the memory settle back in. Truthfully, the breakup with Theo had scrambled my thoughts so badly, I’d forgotten all about Axel's return.

But as I let my mind wander toward him, a small shiver of anticipation creeps up my skin and I know exactly why.

Axel Grey wasn’t just my childhood best friend. He was also my secret crush.

We grew up just across the street from each other and spent almost every day together. It was always me and Axel, occasionally joined by his cousin, Lucas. From chasing each other through the garden to lying on our backs and stargazing long past bedtime, I grew attached to him.

So attached that, as a little girl, I’d drift to sleep imagining us grown up and married.

So attached that when he left Greystone with his parents in middle school, I cried for an entire week straight.

It's been over five years since Axel and his family left town. But just last month, my mom broke a terrible news to me: Axel had lost both his parents in a feral bear attack during a summer camping trip.

Now he's coming back to live with his cousin Lucas and Lucas's mom—right across the street from us, and tonight, they’ll be joining us for dinner. It would be just like old times.

My mom finally looks up, pulling me from my thoughts. “Honey, why don't you wait out on the porch? They should be here any moment now.”

“Yeah, sure,” I say with a small nod, then head outside and sit on the porch.

My phone buzzes in the pocket of my hoodie. It's a text from Corey, my best friend.

“That filthy piece of shit really broke up with you? I'm so killing Theo when we get to school, I swear.”

I can't help but chuckle lightly. Classic Corey.

I’m just about to text her back when I hear the low hum of a car engine rolling down our quiet street. I look up, and right on cue, Lucas’s vehicle turns the corner and rolls toward the house.

I feel a small flutter of nerves swirl in my chest, but I push it down and walk toward the porch steps as the car slows to a stop.

Lucas’s mom is the first to step out. “Hi, Mrs. Martinez,” I say quickly, moving in to greet her.

She beams and opens her arms wide. “Hello, Hayley darling,” she answers, pulling me into a warm, motherly hug. “Thank you for having us.”

“Oh, it's nothing, Mrs. Martinez,” I reply with a smile.

Lucas calls out from beside her. “Sup, Hayley,” he grins, his colored teeth braces flashing under the porch light.

“Hey, Luke,” I say, walking over. We launch into our old handshake—quick snaps, fist bumps, and a pinky-lock that makes us both laugh like kids again.

We’re still grinning when I hear it. That calm and familiar voice.

“Hi, Hayley.”

I don’t have to look. I know exactly who it is.

Axel.

“Hi,” I whisper, and my voice falters for a second.

We both pause and the silence draws on awkwardly, much to the chagrin of Lucas who still has a huge grin splayed on his face.

“Uh, catch you both inside then, I guess,” he says, turning towards the front door. He tosses me a sly wink before disappearing inside and that snaps me out of my daze.

I clear my throat, trying to steady my voice. It doesn't work.

“You look…good,” I manage.

That is a massive understatement.

Axel doesn't just look good. He looks perfect. He's let his hair grow out and his face is unbelievably chiseled. Almost like a Greek god's. His shirt struggles to keep his physique underneath, his muscles gleaming in the soft glow of the porch’s lamp.

And just then, I notice his eyes.

They're a soft, striking emerald green.

That's…new. Axel never had green eyes—not as a kid. They were darker back then. Brown, maybe? I can’t be sure now. But as he steps a little closer into the light, the green becomes even more vivid, almost glowing.

Weird.

Growth doesn't change eye color, does it?

A chill brushes over me and right then, I have an odd feeling settle upon me as the boy I once knew feels like someone entirely new.