Page 88 of Hidden Echoes

Kyle rolls his eyes. “I didn’t come for the people. I’m here with someone.”

My frown deepens. “Someone?”

He smirks—just a little, but enough for me to know he’s enjoying this. “Abigail. She wanted to have fun.”

Ah. Now it makes sense.

I cross my arms. “You entrusted Abigail to Charlie?”

Kyle exhales like he’s actively trying not to think about it. “She’d be a pain in the ass if I got involved.”

I smirk. “So she’s got you wrapped around her little finger, huh?”

Kyle doesn’t take the bait. Instead, he just gives me that calculating look again. “Taylor misses you. You should come home.”

I force a casual shrug. “She ignores me.”

“You tend to ignore everyone.”

I exhale, rubbing the back of my neck. “Fair enough.”

Kyle studies me for a second longer before saying, “She doesn’t actually hate you, you know. It’s just complicated with her.”

I hesitate before asking, “Is she still seeing Mom?”

Kyle’s expression hardens slightly. “She likes to pretend she’s doing a good job of hiding it, but yeah. She still visits Mom.”

My fists clench involuntarily. Of course she does.

Kyle steps forward, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. It’s awkward, like he’s trying to be reassuring but isn’t sure how. My brother was never taught how to express emotions. Our mother made sure of that.

“You should visit more,” he says, voice a little stiff.

I force a smile. “Maybe someday.” Then, because I know he’ll never say it outright, I pull him into a quick hug. “Missed you too, bro.”

Kyle doesn’t push me away, but he doesn’t return the hug either. I can feel him tolerating it, though, which is probably the closest thing to affection I’ll get.

I smirk. “You’re dying inside, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“Not running after Abigail.”

Kyle exhales sharply. “A little.”

I chuckle. “Alright, let’s go find her. You can use me as an excuse—say I wanted to say hi.”

Kyle doesn’t hesitate before nodding. I can feel the slight relief rolling off him. But for me, it’s not a lie—I do want to see Abigail. She was the closest thing I had to a best friend before I left Austin.

And maybe, for just a moment, it’ll feel like old times again.

I walked through the TSOC tents, still trailing Abigail. There was a growing tension in the air, but it wasn’t just because of the somber atmosphere and chaos of the festival. It was because we hadn’t spoken to each other like we used to in years. And now here we were, searching for Abby together, something that probably would have been unthinkable months ago.

“Kyle, we will find her soon,” I muttered, trying to calm the storm raging inside him. I knew he was angry. Kyle huffed, visibly frustrated, but continued walking ahead of me, shoving past people with his usual impatience.

I forced myself to focus. There were so many things to deal with at that moment. And among them was Mia. She had this way of popping into my mind when I least expected it. The truth was, from the moment we met, my life had been turned upside down. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her—that wasn’t it.

I never put much thought into dealing with someone like Mia.

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