SECRETS- Luke Patterson

Letting Go

The air was cold in the garage that night.
Colder than it should have been.

Alex sat alone on the drum stool, elbows propped on his knees, drumsticks clutched so tightly his knuckles ached. He hadn't poofed back into the studio since the fight. Hours had turned into a day, then two. He'd avoided them all—Julie, Reggie, even his sister. Especially his sister.

And Luke.

The memory of his fist colliding with Luke's jaw haunted him. The sound of it. The way Luke had looked at him afterward—bloody lip, swollen jaw, but still defiant, still standing there and saying words Alex wasn't ready to hear.

You don't get to decide who she loves.

Alex closed his eyes, squeezing the sticks until the wood threatened to splinter.

He hadn't meant for it to go that far. He hadn't meant for any of this. But one look at Luke standing too close to Kianna, one more half-secret glance shared between them, and something inside him had snapped. His fists had acted before his brain caught up.

And now? He wasn't sure he could take it back.

The first knock on the garage door startled him.

Julie's voice floated through. "Alex? You in there?"

He didn't answer. He thought maybe if he stayed quiet, she'd leave him alone. But Julie never left him alone.

The door creaked open and light spilled in. Julie stepped inside, cautious, like she was afraid he'd lash out again. She set a paper bag on the amp and folded her arms.

"You've been hiding for three days."

"I'm not hiding," Alex muttered.

"Really?" Julie raised a brow. "Because Reggie says you poofed out in the middle of rehearsal yesterday when Kianna walked in. And Luke hasn't been able to play a single chord right since you two went at it. So if this isn't hiding, what is it?"

Alex dropped his sticks onto the snare with a dull clatter. "It's me giving them space."

Julie's sigh was heavy. She perched on the edge of the keyboard bench, studying him. "You're not just giving them space. You're giving yourself walls."

Alex looked away. His throat burned. "You don't get it, Julie."

"Then explain it to me."

For a long time, he didn't speak. The words sat heavy in his chest, like rocks he didn't know how to move. But Julie just waited, patient and quiet.

Finally, he broke.

"She's my sister." His voice cracked. "Do you know how hard it was watching her die? Losing her and not being able to stop it? And now she's here, and I get another chance, and I... I can't lose her again. Not to this. Not to him."

Julie's eyes softened. "Luke isn't going to hurt her, Alex."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do." Julie's tone sharpened. "He's reckless, sure. He says the wrong thing half the time, and he's stubborn as hell. But Luke doesn't break the people he loves. He'd burn himself out before he ever let Kianna get hurt."

Alex's stomach twisted. "And what if loving him is what hurts her?"

Julie leaned forward, voice gentle but firm. "Then that's her choice. Not yours."

Alex rubbed a hand over his face. He hated how raw he felt, like Julie had peeled away the armor he kept around himself.

"She's all I have," he whispered. "She's the only piece of family I've got left."

Julie reached out, covering his hand with hers. "And if you keep fighting her like this, you'll lose her anyway."

The truth of it stung worse than any punch.

That night, Alex didn't poof to his usual spot on the roof. Instead, he found himself drifting through the Mercer house, quiet as a shadow. He paused outside Kianna's door, hearing the muffled strum of a guitar inside. Luke's chords. Her humming.

His gut clenched.

For a moment, he almost barged in, ready to drag Luke out by the collar. But something stopped him.

The sound of Kianna laughing.

It wasn't loud, but it was real. Warm, soft, the kind of laugh Alex hadn't heard from her since they'd died.

His hand fell from the doorknob. He backed away slowly, heart heavy but shifting, something cracking inside him.

Maybe Julie was right. Maybe he'd been so busy guarding her that he'd forgotten she wasn't a kid anymore. She didn't need his shield. She needed his trust.

The next day, Kianna found him in the park. She sat down beside him on the empty bench, folding her arms tightly across her chest.

"You've been avoiding me."

Alex stared at the ground. "You've been busy."

"Don't do that." Her voice wavered but held steady. "Don't shut me out. Not after everything."

He swallowed hard. "I don't know how to do this, Ki."

"Do what?"

"Watch you with him." He finally looked at her, eyes burning. "I don't know how to let someone else be the one you lean on."

Her expression softened. "You're still my brother. Nothing changes that. Luke doesn't take your place. He just... makes room beside you."

His chest tightened. "And what if he screws up? What if he breaks your heart?"

"Then you'll be there to help me pick up the pieces." She gave him a small, sad smile. "That's all you can do. That's all you've ever needed to do."

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the leaves rustle in the breeze. Finally, Alex let out a shaky laugh.

"I hate this."

Kianna nudged him with her shoulder. "I know."

"But I hate losing you more."

She leaned her head against his arm. "You're not losing me."

For the first time in days, something inside Alex loosened.

That evening, he showed up to rehearsal before anyone else. He set up his kit, tapped out a rhythm, tried to pretend his hands weren't trembling.

When Luke walked in, the room tensed instantly. His bruised jaw had already faded, but the look in his eyes was cautious, guarded.

"Alex," he started, careful, like he was stepping onto thin ice.

Alex held up a hand. "Don't. Just... don't."

Luke's mouth tightened.

Alex exhaled sharply. "I don't like it. I don't want it. But I can't stop it. And I'm tired of fighting both of you."

Luke blinked, surprise flickering across his face.

"So," Alex continued, tapping his drumstick against his knee, "you hurt her, I'll haunt you harder than Caleb ever could. Got it?"

Luke's lips twitched. "Got it."

"And if you ever sneak around me again, I'll break more than your jaw."

"Noted."

For the first time in weeks, Alex saw Luke smile—small, tentative, but real. And for the first time, Alex didn't want to punch it off his face.

Maybe Julie had been right after all.

Maybe letting go didn't mean losing Kianna.

Maybe it meant finally trusting her enough to let her live.