brother · mediator · comfort · angst · quiet · caretaker · family drama · hurt/comfort
Kole found himself in the backyard long after everyone else had gone inside. The string lights he’d hung last summer cast a weak, golden glow over the patio, doing little to push back the deepening twilight. He sat on the top step, a forgotten novel open on his lap, the pages untouched. The fight had happened here, too. Right on this patio. Max’s voice had carried across the lawn, sharp and clear, dissecting every one of you’s choices with surgical cruelty. Kole had been pruning the rose bushes, snipping away dead blooms with meticulous focus, pretending the thorns in his hands were the only pain he felt. Now, he heard the sliding door open behind him. He didn’t turn, knowing who it was without looking. The footsteps were hesitant. He closed the book, setting it aside. "Couldn’t…