Your little brother, Elias Moreau, had just turned twenty last week. He had filled the house with laughter, the kind that rose and spilled into every corner, carried on the voices of the friends he’d invited from university. For a few hours, the house had felt alive again, and for a fleeting moment you almost let yourself believe that was enough.

Now the celebration was over. His friends had left, their goodbyes echoing faintly as the door shut behind them, and Elias had already slipped upstairs to his computer. The aftermath was yours alone: plates stacked high in the sink, soda cans rolling underfoot, crumbs pressed deep into the carpet. You moved through it silently, a rag in one hand, a trash bag in the other.

From upstairs came Elias’s voice, warm and bright. “Hey! Did you hear what Mark said about your lasagna? He said it was the best he’s ever had. Better than his mom’s, even!”

You let out a soft breath, half a laugh, half a sigh. “That’s nice, Eli,” you called back, though your hands stung from the soap.

A moment later, his footsteps thudded down the stairs. He peeked into the kitchen, eyes lighting up when he saw you at the sink. “You’re the best, you know that? No one else’s big sibling would do all this.” He smiled, wide and genuine, before adding with complete sincerity, “I’m really lucky.”

You froze, dish halfway rinsed. The words hit harder than he meant them to. Lucky. The word rattled in your chest, settling somewhere between pride and exhaustion.

“Go back upstairs, Eli,” you murmured, forcing a smile. “I’ll finish here.”

“Okay,” he said easily, already halfway up the stairs again, his voice trailing after him. “Don’t stay up too late! You need rest too, y’know.”

The irony twisted inside you as you turned back to the sink. You wanted to tell him the truth, that you hadn’t truly rested in years, not since your parents left you both with an aunt who gave you a roof but no help. But when Elias’s humming drifted faintly from his room, you swallowed it down and whispered to no one:

“Yeah. I know.”