EPISODE : 5 Day After Forever
1585 Words
Breaking the next morning, for a few seconds...
I forgot.
I forgot where I was.
I forgot why my eyes felt heavy and why my chest felt like it was carrying a weight I couldn't explain.
The sunlight coming through the curtains warmed my face, and the unfamiliar room around me slowly came into focus.
Ava's room.
Last night.
Everything came rushing back.
The café.
Ethan.
The words.
I need space.
My eyes immediately moved toward my phone sitting on the bedside table.
My heart reacted before my mind could stop it.
Maybe...
Maybe he had texted.
Maybe he had realized he made a mistake.
Maybe he had spent the night thinking and decided he didn't want to lose me.
I reached for my phone with trembling fingers.
The screen lit up.
Nothing.
No messages.
No missed calls.
No apology.
No Ethan.
The disappointment that filled my chest was worse than I expected.
I stared at the empty screen.
How pathetic was I?
After everything that happened...
After he was the one who asked for space...
A part of me was still waiting for him to come back.
I let out a quiet breath and placed the phone back down.
"You're awake."
I looked up.
Ava was standing by the door, her hair messy from sleep.
She looked tired.
Probably because she spent the entire night worrying about me.
"Morning."
My voice sounded strange.
Weak.
Ava walked over and sat beside me.
"Did you sleep?"
I looked away.
She sighed.
"That bad, huh?"
I didn't answer.
She didn't need one.
Ava knew me too well.
She looked at the oversized shirt I was still wearing and smiled slightly.
"At least you survived the night."
I looked down at the shirt.
A small smile appeared for a second.
Then disappeared.
"Yeah."
Ava noticed.
But she didn't mention it.
Instead, she stood up.
"Come on."
"Where?"
"Breakfast."
I frowned.
"I'm not hungry."
She crossed her arms.
"Noah."
"I'm serious."
"And I'm serious too."
She pointed toward the door.
"You're eating."
Despite everything...
I almost laughed.
Almost.
"You always act like you're my mother."
"No."
She shook her head.
"Your mother probably has more patience."
That got a small laugh out of me.
A real one.
Even if it only lasted a second.
Ava smiled when she heard it.
"There you are."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"I was starting to think Ethan took your smile with him."
The small happiness disappeared.
Ava immediately regretted saying it.
"I'm sorry."
I shook my head.
"It's okay."
But it wasn't.
Not really.
---
Ava disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me sitting at the counter.
I watched her move around the unfamiliar space, opening cabinets and searching through drawers like she had done it a thousand times.
It was strange seeing this side of her.
At university, Ava was always the loud one.
The one who never stopped talking.
The one who dragged me out when I wanted to stay home.
The one who somehow always knew when I was lying.
But here...
In her own home...
She seemed different.
More relaxed.
More like herself.
I looked around quietly, realizing something.
I actually knew very little about Ava's life outside school.
I knew her favorite food.
I knew her habits.
I knew every embarrassing story she had ever told me.
But I didn't know her family.
She had never really talked about them.
And I had never asked.
The sound of footsteps coming from the hallway pulled my attention away.
Ava didn't notice.
She was too focused on preparing breakfast.
A man appeared at the entrance of the kitchen.
I immediately looked up.
For a moment, I forgot what I was about to say.
He looked older than us.
A few years older.
Tall, with a confident presence that made him stand out without even trying.
His dark hair was slightly messy, like he had just woken up, but somehow it only added to his effortless charm. His features were sharp and well-defined, with a calm expression that made him look both approachable and mysterious at the same time.
He had the kind of appearance people naturally noticed when he walked into a room.
Not because he demanded attention...
But because he didn't have to.
Even wearing something as simple as a plain shirt and casual clothes, he carried himself with quiet confidence.
Then his eyes moved from Ava...
To me.
And finally...
To the oversized black T-shirt I was wearing.
His expression changed slightly.
Not dramatically.
Just enough for me to notice.
He looked surprised.
I had no idea why.
To me, it was just a shirt Ava had given me.
I didn't know it belonged to him.
I didn't even know who he was.
Ava had never told me anything about her family.
So seeing him standing there was just as surprising for me as seeing me was for him.
It wasn't until Ava finally turned around and noticed him that she froze.
"Oh."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Liam."
The man looked at her.
"Morning."
Ava looked between him and me before realizing she hadn't introduced us.
"Liam, this is Noah."
She gestured toward me.
"My best friend."
I gave him a polite smile.
"Hi."
His eyes moved back to me briefly before he nodded.
"Hi, Noah."
Then Ava pointed toward him.
"Noah, this is Liam. My stepbrother."
That caught me slightly off guard.
I looked at him again.
Stepbrother.
Somehow, after knowing Ava for so long, I had never heard her mention him.
"Nice to meet you."
Liam gave a small nod.
"Nice to meet you too."
There was still a hint of surprise in his expression.
Not because of me exactly...
But because Ava had a male visitor in their home.
"I didn't know we were having guests," Liam said, looking at Ava.
Ava rolled her eyes.
"Because I don't have to announce every person who comes into the house."
Liam raised an eyebrow.
"Usually you do."
She ignored him and turned back toward the stove.
"Breakfast will be ready soon."
I sat quietly, still processing the fact that I was learning something new about my best friend.
Ava knew almost everything about me.
But somehow...
I knew almost nothing about her family.
Ava didn't give me much time to process the surprise before she turned back to the kitchen.
"Breakfast is ready she shouted announcing I guess but to who?"
I watched her move around, still trying to understand everything.
Liam.
Her stepbrother.
Somehow, after knowing Ava for so long, I had never heard her mention him.
Or the fact that she had other family members living here.
A few minutes later, Ava started setting the dining area in the kitchen.
I stood up to help, but she immediately shook her head.
"Sit down. You are my guest."
I wanted to argue.
Normally, I would have.
But I was too tired.
So I sat quietly at the counter, watching her arrange the plates.
Then...
More footsteps.
I looked up.
And my confusion only grew.
Two more guys walked into the kitchen.
I blinked.
Once.
Then again.
Because apparently Ava had been hiding an entire family from me.
They were both good-looking.
Very good-looking.
One of them had a relaxed smile that made him seem approachable, while the other carried himself with a quieter confidence, similar to Liam.
For a moment, I wondered if I had accidentally walked into the wrong house.
I looked down at myself.
The oversized shirt.
The tired face.
The fact that I had cried most of the night.
Thankfully, I looked much better this morning compared to yesterday.
My eyes weren't as swollen.
My face didn't look as broken.
At least I wasn't walking around looking like someone who had just had his heart crushed.
Although...
I still felt embarrassed.
Ava noticed my confused expression and laughed softly.
"What?"
I looked at her.
"You never told me you had brothers."
She shrugged.
"I guess it never came up."
I stared at her.
"Never came up?"
She smiled innocently.
I couldn't help but shake my head.
Only Ava could say something like that.
She looked toward the two guys who had just entered.
"Guys, this is Noah."
She turned toward me.
"My best friend."
Then she pointed toward the first guy.
"Noah, this is Adrian. He's my oldest stepbrother."
Adrian gave me a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you, Noah."
"Nice to meet you too."
Then Ava turned toward the second guy.
"And this is Ryan. He's my third stepbrother."
Ryan gave me a small nod.
"Hey, Noah."
"Hey."
I listened carefully as Ava introduced them, still surprised that after knowing her for so long, I was only now discovering she had three stepbrothers.
They were all welcoming, which made me feel slightly less awkward.
But then...
I noticed something.
Liam.
He was quiet.
Not in an uncomfortable way.
Just observant.
Throughout breakfast, I felt his eyes on me more than once.
At first, I thought I imagined it.
But every time I looked up...
I caught him looking.
There was curiosity in his expression.
Like he was trying to figure me out.
Maybe it was because Ava had brought a male friend home.
Maybe it was because he recognized the shirt.
I didn't know.
And honestly...
My mind was still too occupied with Ethan to think too much about it.
I focused on my food instead.
But even while everyone talked around the table...
I could still feel Liam's gaze on me.
- Writer
