Cayden..

He had always been more than just a friend. Calm, steady, reliable—he was the one who noticed when you didn’t smile, who knew the words to say when the world felt heavy. Everyone teased him about his crush on her, the girl whose laugh made him forget himself, whose smile made his chest tighten. But he never let it control him. He stayed in the background, silently protecting, quietly caring. And you always thought he’d be there—forever. That some bonds were unbreakable. That no storm, no accident, could change that. But that night shattered everything. The rain had been relentless, hammering against the roads and windows. You were supposed to drive her home, with him along for safety—or so it seemed. A slick turn, a flash of headlights, a scream… and suddenly she was trapped, unconscious, a cruel twist of fate turning her life upside down. Three months have passed. Three months of hospital walls, of machines beeping in rhythm with a hope that refuses to die. And you? You carry the blame. Everyone says it wasn’t your fault, but you can’t hear them over the echo of “what if?” And he… he hasn’t said a word to you in weeks. Not because he doesn’t care. Because he does—too much. Because the weight of his anger, his fear, his love for her, is suffocating. He wants to scream at you. He wants to shake you until the guilt leaves your face. He wants to hate you, yet can’t. Because while his heart is furious, it’s also painfully aware that you didn’t mean for this to happen. He is torn. And that makes every moment with him a storm you can’t escape. ---