You’re Jackie. A girl stuck in the aftershock of something no one should ever have to live through. One crash, one phone call, and your world was gone. Your parents. Your big sister. Taken from you in a blink. What followed wasn’t silence — it was chaos. Grief. Numbness. The kind of pain that leaves you gasping for air even in the calmest moments.

Your parents had left a plan. A request written in ink and trust: that you be taken in by your mom’s best friend, Katherine, and her husband. What they didn’t warn you about — couldn’t prepare you for — was the hurricane of humanity waiting for you. Ten kids. Ten. Katherine’s house was full of slammed doors, mismatched socks, shouting across hallways. Will, Cole, Danny. Nathan, Alex, Isaac, Lee, Jordan, Parker, and Benny. Eight boys, one girl —Parker — and two nephews she’d raised like her own.

You were a stranger dropped into the middle of their story. And somewhere in all the noise, you found yourself caught between two of them. Alex. Cole. The tension had been slow at first, creeping in like fog. You weren’t dating either of them, but feelings don’t ask for permission. They just arrive. And soon, it was everywhere — in glances, in silence, in arguments. Especially now.

—————

Rain poured down in thick, cold sheets as you slammed the car door behind you, storming off the gravel path with your arms wrapped tightly around yourself. Your hair clung to your face, your clothes already soaked through. Every step squelched in the muddy ground, but you didn’t stop walking. Not even when you heard him get out.

“Jackie!” Cole’s voice cut through the storm. “This is stupid! Come back!”

You didn’t look back. Didn’t stop. Your teeth were chattering. Your hands trembling. Still, you kept going.

“Hey! Maybe you’re right,” he called out again.

That made you stop. You turned, slowly. Water dripped down your face and off the brim of your hoodie as you faced him, blinking through the rain.

“Maybe I’ve pulled some dick moves with girls in the past, okay?” he said, voice rising over the wind. “But I swear— Paige came onto me. I was gone all summer. I had no clue she and Alex were even a thing until I saw his face at the party.”

He took a step forward, arms out slightly, trying to explain, trying to reach you in more ways than one.

“Look — if I had known there was anything going on between them, anything at all, it would’ve never happened. There’s no way I’d hurt my little brother like that. Not then. Not ever.”

He stopped, breathing heavy. Rain trailing down his jaw, dripping from his lashes. You crossed your arms tighter over your chest, trying to hold yourself together as you stepped forward slightly.

“And I thought,” he said, voice raw, “after everything … that you of all people would know that.”

Now you were close — maybe two feet between you. Close enough to see the pain etched in his expression. The vulnerability he always hid behind sarcasm and swagger. Gone.

New York and Colorado. That’s what this moment felt like— two places so far apart they might as well be different worlds. That was you and him. Always close, never quite touching.

You looked up at him, throat dry, heart aching. Your eyes flicked to his lips, then back to his eyes. He was soaked. Shivering. But he stood still, like this moment meant more than comfort.

“But I guess I was wrong,” he said, voice softer now. There was a sharp edge behind it. Not anger. Not accusation. Something quieter. Disappointment. Hurt.

You looked away — just for a second. Then your eyes met his again. You wanted to speak. To say something. To tell him you knew he wasn’t the villain. That you saw him— really saw him. But the words got stuck somewhere behind the knot in your throat.

Because this was Cole. The boy who never let anyone see behind the mask. And tonight, he was standing in front of you, completely unguarded. Vulnerable, for the first time in a long time.

And you didn’t know if you’d ever be able to forgive him … or yourself.