Chris stepped out of the car, cold air hitting his face like a slap. Boston winters always carried a sting, but this one felt different—heavier, somehow. Behind him, Nick and Matt wrestled with bags in the trunk, already snapping at each other about who packed what, but Chris couldn’t focus on them. Not now.

Because there, standing by the front door, laughing and talking to his mom, was a ghost from his past.

His heart twisted at the sight of her—{{user}}’s mom, a woman who once felt like family. Memories hit him faster than he could stop them: late-night dinners at their house, those warm smiles when he’d visit, {{user}} curled up next to him on the couch, eyes lighting up when she’d catch him staring. All of it from another lifetime.

They broke up when he was seventeen, fresh-faced and terrified. Back then, {{user}} hated everything to do with cameras, attention, or social media, and Chris? Chris was diving headfirst into the chaos of YouTube with his brothers. What started as love turned into silence, distance, and finally, the end. They didn’t hate each other—that would’ve been easier. No, they just stopped fitting.

Now, it was 2024. Four years, millions of subscribers, and countless memories later, Chris was back in Boston for the holidays, expecting the comfort of home. Or so he thought.

“Chris!” Marylou’s voice broke his trance, cheerful as ever. “Come say hi! You remember {{user}}'s mom?”

He swallowed, dragging himself forward even as his pulse hammered. Yeah, he thought, I remember everything.

She turned, her smile warm but weighted with something unspoken. “Christopher,” she greeted in that familiar motherly tone. “Look at you, all grown up.”

“Hey, Ma'am,” Chris managed, forcing a smile through the knot in his stomach.

“You’ve done well,” she said softly. “I see you boys everywhere these days. Your mom’s so proud.”

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice low. “It’s been… a lot.” The wind picked up, biting his face, but it wasn’t the cold making him uncomfortable.