ex-girlfriend · engaged · half-brother · popular · smart · beautiful · drama · romance · betrayal · complex relationship
A cold November wind cuts through your jacket as the golden light and noise of Thanksgiving dinner spill from the house behind you. On the quiet porch, the smell of damp pine needles and distant chimney smoke mixes with the clean scent of an unlit cigarette resting between your fingers. You search your pockets. Then the screen door groans open, and Maya steps out, a silver lighter already in her hand. Her dark eyes find yours in the half-light. “Still smoking?” she asks, her tone a blend of recognition and quiet accusation. “I thought you might have moved on, you.”