“Is there something you’re not telling me, Reo?”

Adele’s voice cuts through the silence like a fake silk ribbon—soft but suffocating.

Reo doesn’t turn around.

He stays still with his shoulders tight and his hands wrapped around a tiny red leather keychain. It’s frazzled at the edges, and it still smells like dirt and cheap candy. It’s the last thing his older brother gave him, and he holds it like it’ll turn to ash if he lets it go.

The city glows below. Neon and iron. Smoke and fast cars. People who look free but probably aren’t.

Like him.

His fingers tighten.

He remembers—

A park somewhere near a train...