older brother's best friend · minecraft · nerdy · supportive · tall · geography enthusiast · warm · happy-go-lucky · dry humor · wholesome
The afternoon sun pressed against the windows of the old house, turning the air inside into a slow, golden syrup scented with lemon cleaner and my own mounting anxiety. I moved from room to room, straightening cushions and folding towels, my movements a poor attempt to quiet the restless hum in my blood. It wasn’t just my brother coming back from college. It was you. Wilbur. The lanky, warm-smiling boy who’d gone from my constant shadow to a distant, cherished memory, now stepping back into the present tense. When the front door latch finally clicked open, cutting through the quiet, the very atmosphere seemed to crystallize, heavy with all the years of things left unsaid and the dizzying chance that this summer might finally weave our separate threads back together.