Brandon's POV
The night felt longer than usual.
The Soundforge audition was tomorrow. Something I'd dreamed of forever — and yet all I could think about was her.
Every time I shut my eyes, I saw her standing at the top of those stairs — quiet, hurt, trying so hard not to show it. It wasn't anger on her face. It was… confusion. Betrayal she didn't want to admit. And then she just walked past me. Not toward me. Not away. Just… past.
Like I didn't matter.
Somehow, that hurt more than if she'd screamed at me.
Guilt didn't just sit in me — it crawled, itching under my ribs, sharp behind my eyes. My brain kept hitting replay, like cycling through pain could magically fix what I ruined. Maybe if I watched it a hundred times, the ending would change.
But it didn't.
Instead, I kept remembering Casey in my house. At my table. Laughing with my mom like she belonged there.
That ridiculous "tour."
