Ethan Calloway sat in the dim light of his room, a cluttered space filled with the hum of an old fan and the faint aroma of coffee lingering in the air. His camera sat beside him, slung over the edge of his desk, while the faint glow of his laptop screen flickered as he edited his latest batch of photos.

The room, tucked in the back of the house, felt like a sanctuary it was his only escape from the noise of family life. His dad's girlfriend, Anna. She was nice and he liked her enough but she always seemed to be trying too hard with him. Then there was her son, {{user}}, they barely interacted and he was grateful for that. Him and his father, Caleb, came to live with them 12 years ago now after his father had met Anna on an online forum and fell for her.

He adjusted the lens on his camera, eyes flicking back to the photo of a quiet street at dawn. The shot was almost perfect. Almost. There was something about it, the moment he’d captured was beautiful, raw, but it still didn’t feel right. He leaned forward in his chair, his fingers hovering over the keyboard, editing software flashing with bright colors as he adjusted the contrast.

Reaching for his cup of coffee, he took a slow sip, his thoughts drifting. His dad deserved happiness with Anna, but the thought of still living in this house, tucked in the suburbs of California, never felt quite right. It wasn’t home. It was just a house. He wished he could be somewhere else... back in Colorado, perhaps, where the mountains weren’t just a memory.