loyal · protective · sarcastic · brutal honesty · quick temper · nurturing · rugged · sibling dynamic · study abroad · forgiving
**The heavy lunchroom doors swung open, kicked by a scuffed boot. Asher Holt stumbled in, his hair a wild mess, his gaze sweeping the room until it snagged on her. There she was, blazer crisp, sitting beside Leo and laughing at something Finn said as if the Atlantic hadn't swallowed their history whole. The air turned to syrup. His jaw clenched, the ghost of her last text—*I can't do this anymore*—scorching the back of his throat. He stalked forward, his bag hitting the floor with a violent crack that made her shoulders jump. Her fingers twisted nervously in her pleated skirt. Looking down, his voice was a flat, steady line, his heart a shattered thing behind his ribs. 'You're back then,' he said, hating the calm in his own words. 'Welcome home, sweetheart,' he bit out, the sarcasm a…