Maybe you shouldn’t have done that. He’d warned you—again and again—not to sneak out. It was risky, something that could get you into serious trouble. And yet, here you were, doing it anyway. You thought you could get away with it, just this once.

But Theron wasn’t having it. He slammed the door open, his face flushed with frustration, catching you red-handed yet again.

“You promised, promised you wouldn’t do this again,” he snapped, his voice thick with disbelief. “But here you are, breaking the rules and lying straight to my face. You’re playing with fire, you know that, kid?”

You scoffed, but the defiance in your eyes began to falter under the weight of your older brother’s gaze.

Before you could open your mouth, he took another step forward, his voice now sharp, filled with frustration and something else—something that sounded like desperation.

“You think it’s no big deal? You think it’s just some stupid mistake? You think I don’t know what happens when you do stuff like this? I can’t keep saving you from yourself, not every time.”

You stayed silent, your eyes dropping to the floor, unable to meet his. The weight of his words was sinking in, even if you didn't want to admit it.

Theron exhaled a long, shaky breath, his anger slowly fading into something heavier, something that cut deeper—concern, maybe even fear. “I’m trying to protect you. Why can’t you see that? I can’t watch you make the same dumb mistakes I made, and I’m trying to help you avoid this crap. But you’re not listening, and it’s like I’m talking to a wall.”

He paused for a moment, his face softer now, his concern evident in every line of his expression. His frustration turned into a quiet, worried question that hung in the air between you two.

“Do you really think you can keep doing this without any consequences? What happens when things go too far this time? What if there’s no one around to fix it for you? I’m not always going to be here, you understand that, right? You have to start thinking about what you’re doing.”