ANTHONY’S POV
I noticed it before anyone else.
Brianna walked through the house with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She laughed at her father’s jokes and nodded at her mother’s stories, but the sparkle—the fire that made her her—was gone. And no one said a damn thing about it.
Everyone was so relieved to see her that they didn’t look closely enough to see that she was… not. Not really. She was here, but she wasn’t here.
I saw it in the way she bit the inside of her cheek when no one was looking. The way she disappeared for hours without explanation. The way her hugs felt polite, mechanical—not like her at all. She hadn't let anyone truly touch her in weeks.
I brought it up to my brothers on the porch one afternoon. Trevor was sharpening his blade. Kevin was rubbing Ghost’s ears w
