The afternoon had been golden and lazy, the kind that made you believe nothing bad had ever happened or ever would. Leo was perched on the bridge’s edge like a bird, all sharp elbows and restless energy, while Alex sat a cautious two feet behind him.
That was the moment. The one Alex would replay a thousand times. The moment he should have said more. Should have closed the two feet between them. Should have told Leo that the reason he never jumped, never risked, never spoke was because the only thing he truly wanted was standing right there, and losing that was a fall he’d never survive. flashback original
Alex closed his eyes. The rain became sunlight. The rusted railings became warm, dry wood. And he was there. The afternoon had been golden and lazy, the
“You’d catch me,” Alex whispered.
Then he typed another, to the community art center downtown: “I’d like to apply for the teaching position. I don’t have a degree in art, but I know someone who did. And I can learn.” The one Alex would replay a thousand times
But next Tuesday never came. Leo’s car hydroplaned on the wet highway the next morning. The funeral was small. Alex stood in the back, hands in his pockets, color-coded grief that didn’t fit any category.