Chapter Four: Chasing the Sun
It started with a simple plan.
"Let's kidnap her," Leo whispered.
Ethan looked up from his coffee. "I'm sorry—what?"
"Not literally, man. A soft kidnapping. Emotional rescue. We take her out for the day. No sad music, no hiding in hoodies. Just sunshine, stupid jokes, and way too much ice cream."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "You do know she's not five, right?"
Leo grinned. "Nope. But I know she's still in there—the girl who used to prank you with glitter bombs and draw cartoons on your cereal boxes."
Ethan paused, then smiled.
So that Saturday, they ambushed her.
"Alina," Ethan said, throwing open her door with zero shame. "Get dressed. You have ten minutes."
"For what?"
"No questions. Just trust the process," Leo added, dramatically handing her a banana with a sticker that said 'Adventure Fuel'.
She groaned but smiled—just barely. "You two are ridiculous."
"Accurate," they said in unison.
They started with breakfast at a food truck Alina used to love. Leo ordered every sweet thing on the menu—funnel cake fries, Nutella waffles, chocolate milk with marshmallows.
"This is a sugar coma waiting to happen," she said, licking whipped cream off her spoon.
"Worth it," Leo said, mouth full.
Next, they drove to the cliffs by the beach. The same spot where their parents once brought them for picnics and skipping stones.
The wind tugged at her hair as they sat on the edge, legs swinging over the rocks.
"You okay?" Ethan asked softly.
Alina looked out over the waves. "I think… I'm starting to be."
Leo tossed a pebble. "Healing isn't about pretending it doesn't hurt. It's just learning to laugh while it still does."
She looked between the two of them—her overprotective, quietly struggling brother, and his chaotic, sunshine-hearted best friend.
And for the first time in a long time, Alina felt something like hope.
Maybe she couldn't go back to who she was before. But maybe she didn't have to.
Maybe, with them… she could become someone even stronger.