The house was awake when it shouldn't have been.
Lights were on. Every room. I stopped just inside the door, my bag still on my shoulder.
Both of my brothers were there.
One sat on the couch, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor like he'd been counting the cracks all night. The other stood near the doorway, arms crossed so tightly his knuckles were pale.
They looked up at the same time.
"Where were you?"
"Do you know what time it is?"
Their voices overlapped, sharp with relief that hadn't settled yet.
"I - " My voice caught. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stay out."
"You didn't come home," Tristan said, quieter but worse. "You didn't answer your phone. We called hospitals."
That hit harder than anything else.
Tobias ran a hand through his hair, pacing again. "We stayed up all night. All night. Do you have any idea how many things go wrong after midnight?"
"I'm fine," I said quickly. "Nothing happened."
"That's easy to say now," he snapped, then stopped himself. He exhaled hard. "We were scared."
Silence filled the room.
I hadn't thought about them waiting. About the hours stretching. About fear growing without answers.
"I didn't want to worry you," I whispered.
"Well, you did," Tristan said, rubbing his face. "You disappeared."
His eyes moved over me, checking without touching. "Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
I nodded.
Tobias finally stopped pacing. "You don't get to vanish like that," he said more softly now. "Not without telling someone."
"I know."
Neither of them looked convinced.
Tristan glanced at the clock, then back at me. "Go sit," he said. "You look exhausted."
I did as he said. The bracelet rested warm against my wrist, hidden beneath my sleeve.
No one noticed.
Tobias handed me a glass of water like it was something fragile. "Next time," he said, "you call. Even if it's stupid. Even if it's late."
"There won't be a next time," I said.
They exchanged a look.
"That's what scares us," the older one replied.
I swallowed.
They didn't know anything was wrong.
And somehow, that made it worse.