BIGGER BUBBLES

*Chapter 14: The First Crack*

The bubble was nice.

Until it wasn’t.

It started with a text on a Tuesday.

*Unknown number: Is this Adrian? It's Ethan.*

Adrian stared at it for five minutes before answering.

*Adrian: Yeah. What do you need?*

*Ethan: Can we talk. In person. This week?*

He didn’t tell Lily right away.

He told himself he would. After he figured out what Ethan wanted.

---

They met at a coffee shop halfway between cities. Neutral ground.

Ethan looked older. Tired. No ring.

“Thanks for coming,” he said.

“What’s this about?”

Ethan stirred his coffee even though he hadn’t put anything in it.

“I heard you’re in her city.”

Adrian didn’t answer.

“I’m not here to fight,” Ethan said. “I’m here because Mia told my sister. And my sister told me. That you two are... together.”

The first crack.

Adrian nodded once. “We are. But it’s new. And we’re doing it different this time.”

Ethan laughed, but not mean. Just tired.

“You have no idea how long I waited for her to say that to me.” He looked up. “I’m not mad. Not really. I’m just... I needed to see your face when I said I’m okay with it. So I can stop wondering.”

Adrian didn’t know what to say to that.

“I signed the house over to her sister,” Ethan continued. “I’m not going back there. You two can have your quiet. Just... take care of her, alright? She deserves that.”

He stood up. Left $5 on the table.

“Take care, Adrian.”

---

Adrian drove straight to Lily’s.

She was on the porch with Milo when he pulled up.

He told her everything. The text. The coffee. What Ethan said.

Lily listened. Didn’t interrupt.

When he finished, she was quiet for a long time.

“I was scared of this,” she whispered. “Of the world finding us.”

“I know.”

“Are you mad I didn’t tell you he might reach out?”

“No. Are you mad I went?”

She shook her head. Came down the steps and stood in front of him.

“The bubble popped, didn’t it?”

Adrian took her hand. “Maybe. Or maybe we just have to build a bigger one. One with windows.”

Lily smiled, sad. “Windows let people look in.”

“Yeah,” he said. “But they also let light out.”

She leaned into him. First real hug in daylight that lasted more than three seconds.

Milo sat on their feet.

That night they didn’t pretend it didn’t happen.

They talked. About Ethan. About guilt. About what “doing it right” actually looked like when other people were involved.

At 10pm Adrian went home to his apartment.

At 10:03pm Lily texted:

*We’re okay. Right?*

*Adrian: We’re okay. Bigger bubble.*