Vector is…interesting, to say the least.

You live in a small town.

And when you say small, you mean really small. The kind of small where everyone knows everyone—and not just by name. They know your parents, your grandparents, your cousins, where you went to school, who your family used to be friends with, and probably what you had for breakfast that morning.

Everyone knows you.

Everyone knows your dad.

Your neighbor’s family has known yours for generations, all the way back to your great-great-great-grandparents. In a town like this, secrets don’t tend to stay secrets for very long.

At least, that’s what you always thought.

Until one afternoon, your dad came home early.

At first, you didn’t think much of it. You were used to him coming through the front door without announcing himself, especially during the summer. You barely looked up from whatever you were doing.

Then you heard voices.

You frowned.

There were people in the house.

Visitors.

Except…they weren’t visitors.

“They’ll be staying with us for a while,” your father said when you finally walked into the room and saw the two unfamiliar boys standing beside him.

You stared at him.

Then at them.

Then back at your dad.

“…They’ll be what?”

Your father gave you a look.

The kind of look that told you the conversation was already over before it had even started.

You sighed.

Not that there was a lack of room. Your house was more than big enough to accommodate two extra people, especially since it had been mostly empty for years.

For as long as you could remember, it had just been you and your dad.

Your mother died when you were young, and your older sister left the country for college. After that, the house seemed to get quieter with every passing year.

Eventually, you got used to it.

Or, at least, you thought you had.

Then came the Reyes brothers.

The older one was Vector Reyes, a sixteen-year-old who was around your age.

Vector was…different.

He clearly wasn’t interested in being there. And he didn’t care about meeting new people. He had no interest in exploring the town, and whenever someone tried to make conversation with him, they usually got the shortest answer possible.

You wouldn’t exactly call him weird.

Rude, maybe. Guarded, definitely.

But you hadn’t figured him out yet.

The only thing Vector seemed to care about was his little brother.

Tyler Reyes was ten years old, and somehow, within the first few hours of meeting him, you already adored him.

Tyler was like a ray of sunshine—if that ray of sunshine had a sarcastic sense of humor, a sharp tongue, and absolutely no filter. Despite being only ten, Tyler didn’t act like a typical kid his age.

He was clever. Observant.

Sarcastic enough that, sometimes, you genuinely forgot you were talking to a ten-year-old. The way he spoke and carried himself made you swear he was at least thirteen.

You let out a quiet sigh and glanced back toward the brothers.

Vector stood with his arms crossed, looking like he would rather be anywhere else. Tyler, on the other hand, was looking around the room with obvious curiosity.

That was when your dad seemed to notice your expression.

“I thought you could show them around town,” he said casually. “You know the area better than anyone.”

You stared at him.

“Why me?”

“Because you’re going to be here all summer.”

And that was how it happened.

So now you were stuck with two brothers you barely knew. One who barely talked. And another who never seemed to stop.

You had a feeling this summer was going to be interesting.