Between Us Was My Brother

The sound of breaking glass seemed to echo through the kitchen.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Lila stood frozen near the doorway.

Rebecca's hand dropped from Ryder's shoulder.

Ryder turned.

The moment he saw Lila, his expression changed.

"Lila—"

"I'm sorry."

The words left her mouth before she could stop them.

She wasn't even sure what she was apologizing for.

For dropping the glass.

For walking in.

For seeing something she wished she hadn't.

Without waiting for anyone to answer, she turned and walked away.

"Lila," Ryder called.

She kept walking.

Behind her, she heard Ethan's voice from the living room.

"What happened?"

Rebecca answered first.

"Nothing."

Lila climbed the stairs quickly.

She didn't look back.

She didn't want to see Ryder.

Not right now.

Not after that.

By the time she reached her room, her chest felt tight.

She closed the door and leaned against it.

The house suddenly felt too small.

Too crowded.

Too full of memories she didn't want.

A few minutes later, there was a knock.

"Lila."

Ryder.

She closed her eyes.

Another knock followed.

"Can we talk?"

She stayed silent.

The knocking stopped.

She listened to his footsteps move away.

Then she sat on the edge of her bed.

The room was quiet.

Unfortunately, her thoughts weren't.

Every memory seemed determined to come back at once.

The little girl who used to wait for Ryder to visit.

The teenager who secretly watched for his motorcycle.

The excitement she felt when he returned.

The trip to town.

The teasing.

The cereal arguments.

The way she kept convincing herself that maybe something was changing.

Maybe he was starting to see her differently.

Maybe—

Lila let out a small laugh.

A sad one.

Nothing had changed.

Ryder was still Ryder.

And she was still the girl carrying feelings he knew nothing about.

That realization hurt more than the kiss.

Because the kiss had only shown her the truth.

The next morning, she woke up exhausted.

She hadn't slept much.

When she finally went downstairs, Ethan was already in the kitchen.

Ryder sat across from him.

The sight of him immediately brought back last night.

Lila forced herself to keep walking.

"Morning," Ethan said.

"Morning."

She opened the refrigerator and focused on finding something to drink.

Anything to avoid looking at Ryder.

The silence didn't last long.

Ethan frowned.

"Why does it feel like somebody died in here?"

Lila almost laughed.

Almost.

"I'm just tired."

Ethan pointed at Ryder.

"And you?"

Ryder shrugged.

"Ask her."

Lila immediately looked away.

Ethan stared between them.

"What did I miss?"

"Nothing," both of them said at the same time.

Ethan groaned.

"You two are annoying."

A few minutes later, he left for work.

The moment the front door closed, the kitchen felt different.

Quieter.

Lila grabbed her glass.

"I should go."

"Lila."

She stopped.

Not because she wanted to.

Because hearing him say her name still affected her.

"What?"

Ryder stood.

His expression wasn't playful today.

No teasing.

No smile.

Just concern.

"Can we talk?"

"About what?"

"You know what."

"No, I don't."

He studied her face.

"Lila."

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

That irritated her more than it should have.

"I'm fine, Ryder."

He looked like he wanted to say more.

Instead, he nodded once.

"Okay."

Lila left before he could continue.

The rest of the day passed slowly.

She spent most of it avoiding everyone.

By afternoon, she was sitting alone on the back porch when she heard footsteps.

Rebecca appeared carrying two bottles of water.

Without asking permission, she sat beside her.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Then Rebecca handed her a bottle.

Lila accepted it quietly.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Another silence followed.

Rebecca stared out into the yard.

Then she sighed.

"Can I ask you something?"

Lila looked over.

"Sure."

Rebecca hesitated.

"Are you in love with Ryder?"

Lila's heart stopped.

For one terrible second, she couldn't speak.

Then she laughed.

Too quickly.

"What? No."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow.

"Lila."

"I'm serious."

"Okay."

Rebecca nodded slowly.

But she didn't look convinced.

A few seconds passed.

Then she spoke again.

"Maybe I'm wrong."

Lila stared at the label on her water bottle.

"Maybe."

Rebecca looked at her carefully.

"But if I'm not, I need to tell you something."

Lila didn't answer.

"Kill it."

The words landed harder than they should have.

Rebecca's voice remained gentle.

"For your own good."

Lila swallowed.

Rebecca continued.

"You're going to get hurt."

Neither of them spoke for several seconds.

Finally, Rebecca looked away.

"I've known Ryder for years."

Lila stayed silent.

"He's a lot of things."

A small smile touched Rebecca's lips.

"Most of them annoying."

That earned the tiniest reaction from Lila.

But Rebecca's smile faded.

"He doesn't always see what's right in front of him."

Lila felt her throat tighten.

Rebecca stood.

Before walking away, she paused.

Then she said quietly,

"Just don't build your whole world around someone who doesn't know he's standing in it."

And then she left.

Lila sat there long after she was gone.

Those words followed her into the evening.

The rest of the evening passed quietly.

Rebecca left shortly after.

Before leaving, she stopped beside Lila.

"Goodnight."

Lila managed a small smile.

"Goodnight."

Rebecca hesitated for a second, as if she wanted to say something else.

Then she simply nodded and walked away.

Lila watched her leave.

The front door closed.

And suddenly the house felt very quiet.

Dinner came and went.

Ethan talked about something funny that happened at work.

Ryder laughed at the right moments.

Normally, Lila would have joined in.

Tonight, she barely spoke.

Nobody seemed to notice.

Or maybe they were pretending not to.

After dinner, she helped clear the table.

She washed the dishes.

Dried them.

Put them away.

Anything to keep her hands busy.

Anything to stop thinking.

But Rebecca's words wouldn't leave her alone.

For your own good, kill it.

You're going to get hurt.

By the time she finished cleaning, she felt exhausted.

Not physically.

Just tired inside.

She wiped her hands on a kitchen towel.

"I'm going upstairs."

"Already?" Ethan asked.

She nodded.

"Long day."

Ethan accepted the answer easily.

"Goodnight, kid."

"Goodnight."

Lila turned toward the stairs.

As she walked away, she could feel Ryder's eyes following her.

She didn't look back.

Not once.

A few minutes later, she was sitting on her bed.

The room was dark except for the small lamp beside her.

She pulled her knees to her chest and stared out the window.

The neighborhood was quiet.

Most of the lights in the nearby houses were already off.

Everything looked peaceful.

She wished she felt the same.

Her gaze dropped to her hands.

Slowly, she remembered something Rebecca had asked earlier.

Are you in love with Ryder?

Lila closed her eyes.

For the first time all day, she stopped pretending.

Stopped denying it.

Stopped lying to herself.

Even if nobody else knew.

Even if Ryder never knew.

She knew.

And somehow that hurt the most.

Because loving him had always felt safe when he was far away.

Now he was living under the same roof.

And every day, it was becoming harder to hide.

Lila lay down and switched off the lamp.

The room went dark.

But sleep didn't come easily.