~ Cole ~ I don’t argue with them. That’s the first thing I’m trying to change about myself. I’ve spent most of my life answering pressure with pressure, meeting doubt with force, and ending conversations instead of letting them play out. Tonight, I let it sit, the tension, the questions. The way Mara went quiet when they started talking about space, about stability, about what she doesn’t have yet. And Lily—that one question. Do we have to move? It stays. Long after dinner ends. Long after Mara’s parents stop talking. Long after the plates are cleared and the house settles into that silence that feels heavier than noise. Mara’s in the living room with her mother, their voices low as they talk, Lily’s at the table, colouring again, but slower now. Thinking more than drawing. I don’t interrupt either of them. I step outside, pull out my phone, and make the call. It rings once. “Gary speaking,” the agent answers, smooth like always. “It’s Cole,” I say. There’s a paus
Last Updated : 2026-04-30 Read more