로그인Andre. It was quiet, I thought to myself as I dipped my legs in the swimming pool, feeling the cold water against my skin was oddly satisfying, then I heard quiet steps approaching from behind me. “Hey,” Ella said softly and I finally looked up. She stood a few feet away, arms loosely wrapped around herself like she wasn’t sure if she was welcome or not. Her hair was pulled back, her face pale, eyes tired like she had been crying. “Hey,” I replied, gesturing towards the chair beside me. “Come sit down.”She hesitated for only a second before lowering herself into the chair next to mine. The distance between us felt louder than any argument ever could have and for a moment, neither of us spoke.The pool filter hummed quietly in the background.“How are you feeling?” I asked, keeping my voice gentle.She let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh, but it broke halfway. “That’s a loaded question and I don't really know how to answer it.”I nodded slightly. “Fair enough .” We w
Andre. I hated being the only person he was okay talking with, I wished he would start letting other people in, especially his fiancee Ella. He had been silent all the way back to his house, he only spoke when spoken to which made the silence more uncomfortable. Andre’s bedroom was quiet in a way that felt heavy, like the walls themselves were holding their breath. The curtains were half drawn, letting in a muted wash of afternoon light that softened everything it touched. The bed was large, neatly made except for where Andre lay stretched out on his back, one arm resting awkwardly at his side, the other folded across his chest like he wasn’t sure what to do with himself anymore.I moved slowly, deliberately, setting everything he might need on the bedside table his water, the pills the nurse explained twice, a small bowl of fruit my mother insisted would help him regain strength. My hands were steady, but my chest wasn’t. Every small sound felt louder than it should have: the c
Andre. I don’t remember the drive back home, apparently I had used this same road a thousand times, but nothing felt familiar at all and that’s what scares me the most.Everyone keeps saying I have been in this car a thousand times, that I know these roads better than most people know their own bedrooms, but as we pull up to the house, which is my supposed house, it feels like I am arriving at a place I once saw in a dream and never thought I would visit again.The gates slide open smoothly, like they recognize me even if I don’t recognize them.The house stands there, large and familiar in a way I can’t explain. Stone walls, wide glass windows, a driveway that curves like it was designed to impress. It should feel like home. Instead, my chest tightens.Sage sits beside me in the backseat, quiet, her hands folded in her lap. She has been doing that a lot, being quiet in a way that feels intentional, like she is trying not to overwhelm me with herself. My father is driving and Rosa is
Sage.I wait until the door clicks shut behind the doctor before I let myself breathe.The room feels different without him quieter, heavier, like the air has settled into something more honest. Machines still beep softly around Andre, but now there’s no one explaining, no one translating what’s happening to him into neat medical terms. It’s just us. Him in the bed. Me standing beside it. His parents a few steps back, hovering in that careful way people do when they’re afraid to say the wrong thing.Andre looks at me, really looks at me, like he’s memorizing my face all over again.It makes my chest ache.I step closer to the bed before I can overthink it. My fingers curl around the railing, knuckles white, grounding myself. For the last hour, everything has felt like it’s slipping truth, lies, memory, identity. Like the ground beneath us isn’t solid anymore.I promised myself I would be calm. Clear. Certain.But the moment he opens his mouth, all of that almost falls apart.“You wer
Sage.I am still standing outside the hospital bathroom when I dial Maya’s number.My hands are shaking so badly I almost drop my phone. My chest feels tight, like there isn’t enough air in this entire building. The image of Ella’s face crumpled, furious, humiliated won’t leave my mind. Neither will the sound of Andre’s voice when he said my name like it was the only solid thing left in his world.Maya answers on the second ring.“Sage?” she says, and I hear it instantly the shift in her voice. “What’s going on with Andre?”I press my back against the cool wall and slide down until I’m sitting on the floor, knees pulled to my chest. “He is awake, he is okay, Atleast he is going to be,” I whisper."What does that mean, going to be?" she asks “I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “Physically he is okay, yes, I think. Mentally” I let out a shaky breath. “Maya, he doesn’t remember anyone.”Another pause, heavier this time. “What do you mean, anyone?”“He doesn’t remember Ella,” I say. “He
Ella.The drive to my parent's house was a few minutes away from the hospital. It took me close to ten minutes to get there. I sit in my car long after I turn the engine off gathering the strength to walk in. The house looms in front of me large, pristine, perfectly maintained. White walls. Tall windows. A place that has never known warmth, only appearances. From the outside, it looks like safety. Stability. Success. It still looks the exact same way it did when I was growing up. From the inside, it’s a cage.My hands are clenched so tightly around the steering wheel that my fingers ache. I don’t notice it at first. I’m too busy breathing in short, shallow bursts, trying to calm the storm raging in my chest. My heart won’t slow down. My thoughts won’t line up.I press my forehead against the steering wheel and close my eyes and whisper to myself, Get it together, Ella.Crying won’t save you here. Weakness has never been tolerated in this house.I glance at the front door, half expe







