Chapter 002: His Homecoming

HAYLEY.

It's been a long, tenuous week since my breakup with Theo. After spending almost all of it holed up in bed, sobbing, 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 lift my head from the table, slightly confused. “Huh?”

“I’m pretty sure he's already on his way here,” she continues.

“Axel’s coming here? Tonight?”

My mom pauses from smoothing a napkin and 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 really 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. The breakup with Theo had scrambled my thoughts so badly, I’d forgotten everything about last week, including the conversation on Axel's return.

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

Axel Grey was more than my childhood best friend. He was my secret crush.

We grew up just across the street from each other and spent almost every day together. It was always the both of us, 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 very fond of him.

So fond, 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 he and his family left town. But just last month, my mom broke the terrible news to me: Axel had lost both his parents in a feral bear attack this summer whilst on a 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'd be just like old times.

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

“Alright mom.” With a small nod, I head outside.

My phone buzzes in the pocket of my hoodie the minute I step out the door. 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.”

A wry smile forms on my lips. Classic feisty 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.

A small flutter of nerves start to 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 greet with a huge smile.

She flicks her shoulder length hair behind her shoulder and beams at me, her arms wide open. “Hello, Hayley darling,” she answers, pulling me into a warm, motherly hug. “Thank you for having us.”

“Oh, it's nothing, Mrs. Martinez.”

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

“Hey, dummy,” I answer with a matching smirk, striding to him. We launch into our usual handshake—a flurry of hand signals, fist bumps, and a pinky-lock that makes us both laugh like kids again.

We’re still grinning when I hear a familiar voice behind him.

“Hi, Hayley.”

I don’t have to look to be certain. 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 gives me a sly wink before disappearing inside and that snaps me out of my daze.

I clear my throat in a bid to steady my voice, but 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 incredibly 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.

But 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. When 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?

Right there on the porch with my gaze still fixed on him, an odd feeling crawls up on me.

For some reason, something feels off about the boy I once knew.