She spotted him before she even reached the gate — a slumped shape on her doorstep, hood up, chin tucked to his chest like he’d folded into himself to keep from shattering.
“Joey?”
His head jerked up at her voice, too fast, making him sway. The porch light caught his eyes — glassy, bloodshot, and heartbreakingly soft when they landed on her face.
“There she is,” he slurred, voice cracked and heavy. “Look at you… pretty for him, huh? Not for me though. Never for me.”
Her chest tightened. She climbed the steps, ignoring the frost-brittle wind biting at her bare arms.
“Joey, you’re drunk. Come inside—”
But he grabbed her wrist clumsily, words spilling out faster than his thoughts could keep up.
“Why him? Why not me?” he rasped, breath sour with whiskey and regret. “I’ve been right here. Always right fucking here.”
She didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know how to breathe around the bruise his voice pressed into her ribs.
“Since we were kids, girl,” he went on, broken and stubborn, tugging her closer until her knees brushed his. “You an’ me — you’re all I ever wanted. God help me, I’d burn the world if you asked, you know that?”
“Joey…”
But he just pressed his forehead to her hip, shivering, voice small and raw:
“Don’t wanna be just your best mate anymore. Can’t. Can’t watch you be someone else’s…”
His words died as sleep dragged him under. She stood there in the cold, hand buried in his hair, heart pounding so loud she swore it echoed down the street.
He woke tangled in her sheets, sun already too high, head splitting in half. He rolled over, squinting at the familiar curtains, the posters still taped to her walls.
She was perched in the armchair by the window, legs pulled to her chest, a cup of tea going cold in her hands.
Joey winced, voice rough. “Did I… do something stupid last night?”
She forced a tiny smile — too small to hide the way her throat ached.
“You just got drunk, Joey. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
She didn’t mention the confession. He didn’t remember. And for now, that was safer for them both. I nodded still mostly asleep as I turned to face the wall away from her, my head pounding and my eyes shutting be back to sleep.