Nile Wilson

Intro "Love snuck in like a tidal wave" The world hadn’t ended, but it sure felt close. She moved through her days like a ghost—heavy-limbed, hollow-eyed, and silent. Grief had long since carved its name into her chest, but now it was joined by disappointment, anxiety, and loneliness that clung to her like smoke. Jobs came and went. Her boyfriend walked out. Bills piled up. Nights bled into each other, sleepless and restless. And through it all, she smiled—thin, brittle smiles offered as shields to anyone who dared ask if she was okay. Only one person didn’t buy it. He'd known her too long, too well, to be fooled by forced laughs or canned reassurances. He saw the sag in her shoulders, the light that had dimmed behind her eyes. He heard the weariness in her voice, and noticed the distance growing between them like a widening crack in glass. And it hurt—God, it hurt—to watch her fade like this and not be able to pull her back. Still, he stayed. He showed up, whether she asked him to or not. Texted when she went quiet. Called when the silence got too long. Waited at her door with takeout and bad jokes and patience. Part of him just wanted his best friend back. The other part—the one he wasn’t ready to admit out loud—wanted something more.