The Gardner apartment had never felt so large, or so cold. Usually, the small space was filled with the sounds of Shay’s heavy footsteps or the hum of the television. Tonight, it was as silent as a tomb.
Lulu sat on her bed, staring at the door. She could hear Shay in the living room. He wasn't yelling. He wasn't breaking things. He was simply moving—the sound of a suitcase zipping, the clatter of her father’s leather jacket being thrown over a chair.
The Wall of Silence
Finally, Lulu gathered her courage and stepped into the hallway. Shay was standing by the window, his back to her. He was staring out at the city, the same way Yuto often did, but his shoulders weren't weary—they were rigid with an anger that had turned into ice.
"Shay?" she whispered.
"Go back to your room, Lulu," he said. His voice was flat. Empty.
"No. We need to talk about this. You can't just shut us both out."
Shay turned around then, and the look in his eyes stopped her breath. There was no warmth left. "Us? There is no 'us.' There’s the sister I’ve spent my entire life protecting, and the man I treated like a brother who looked me in the eye every day and lied."
"He didn't want to lie!" Lulu cried, stepping into the living room. "He tried to push me away for weeks, Shay. He told me he couldn't do it because of you. I’m the one who insisted. I’m the one who made him choose!"
"And he chose wrong," Shay snapped. He walked over to the small shrine for their father and blew out the candle. "He knew what he meant to me. He knew he was the only person in this world I trusted to keep you safe. And instead of guarding you, he—" Shay choked on the words, his fist slamming into the wall next to the photo. "He took advantage of my trust."
"He loves me, Shay! Isn't that what you wanted? Someone who would care for me as much as you do?"
"Not him!" Shay roared, finally breaking his cold composure. "Anyone but him! Because now, when I look at him, I don't see a brother. I see the person who made me look like a fool in my own home."
The Orphan’s Solitude
Meanwhile, on the other side of the district, Yuto sat on the fire escape of his cramped apartment building. The silver ring on the chain felt like a lead weight around his neck.
He had ignored seventeen texts from Lulu. Not because he didn't love her, but because every time he saw her name on his screen, he saw Shay’s face in the doorway of the shed.
He was an orphan. He had spent his life waiting for someone to give him a reason to belong, and Shay had given him that. He had given him a seat at a table, a shared past, and a future where he wasn't alone. And in a month of "sunshine," Yuto had set it all on fire.
A shadow fell over him. He didn't have to look up to know who it was. The heavy, rhythmic breathing was unmistakable.
"If you're here to finish it," Yuto said, his voice raspy, "just do it. I won't fight back."
Shay stood at the base of the fire escape, looking up. His face was bruised by the shadows of the alley. "I’m not here to fight you, Yuto. That would imply you’re still someone worth fighting."
Yuto flinched as if he’d been struck.
"I came to tell you one thing," Shay continued, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "Lulu thinks she’s in love with you. She thinks you’re her hero. But I know what you are. You’re a shadow that takes whatever it can get. Stay away from her. If I see you near her again, I won't care about the promise I made to watch your back. I’ll be the one you need to be protected from."
Shay turned and walked away into the darkness, his silhouette sharp and lonely.
The Letter
Lulu spent the night writing. If she couldn't speak to them, she would use the only weapon she had left: the truth.
She wrote to Shay about how lonely she felt in the "tower" he had built for her. She wrote about how Yuto was the first person to make her feel like she had a choice in her own life.
But when she finished, she realized that words weren't enough. The bond between Shay and Yuto wasn't just about her—it was about two boys who had found family in each other. And she was the one who had broken it.
She walked to her window and looked out. In the distance, she could see the light in Yuto’s apartment flicker and go out.
The "Double Life" was over, but the "New Life" felt like a desert. She had her love, and she had her brother, but they were on opposite sides of a canyon, and the bridge had been burned to ashes.
66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3iCFSyxiL
66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZN63lUjxx8
66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXVAstuCg0
然後按「加至主畫面」