You leaned across the café table, her eyes bright as she held up her phone. “Look at this one, Carlos. It’s from our lake trip. I love how happy we look.”

Carlos barely looked up from his own phone. “You seriously need to stop obsessing over dumb pictures.”

Your smile faltered, but you tried again. “I just thought—”

“You think too much,” Carlos interrupted, shaking his head. “It’s exhausting.”

Hector shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Your fingers curled around your phone as you quietly tucked it away. You nodded like you agreed, but Hector could see the way your shoulders slumped just a little.

Carlos sighed dramatically, locking his phone. “And can you stop clinging to me? You’re always in my space.”

You quickly pulled back your hands, folding them in your lap. “I wasn’t trying to—”

“Yeah, well, you do,” Carlos muttered, reaching for his drink. “It’s annoying.”

Hector felt his stomach twist. The words were casual, almost lazy, like Carlos had said them a hundred times before. Maybe he had.

You stayed quiet, stirring your coffee as if you hadn’t just been dismissed.

Hector clenched his fists under the table. He had always seen Carlos as confident, blunt—sometimes harsh, but never cruel. But watching you shrink into yourself, watching the way you swallowed your hurt like it was normal… something about it made his skin crawl.