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The late afternoon sun dipped behind the trees, casting long shadows over the small cemetery. Tessa knelt before the gravestone, her fingertips grazing the name etched into the smooth marble:

Liam Hale

Beloved Son and Brother.

Forever in Our Hearts.

Tears blurred her vision, but she didn’t bother wiping them away. She sat in silence for a moment, listening to the stillness around her, before finally whispering, “I miss you, Liam. More than I can even say.”

Her voice cracked, and she let out a shaky breath. “They keep telling me it’ll get easier, that the pain will fade with time. But it hasn’t. It’s been a month, and it still feels like you’re supposed to walk through the door any second.”

A weak smile tugged at her lips as she wiped her cheeks. “You lied, you know. You said I’d adapt, that I’d figure things out. But guess what? I haven’t. I’m still waiting for you, even though I know you’re not coming back.”

Her words faltered, and the smile dissolved into more tears. “Mom and Dad... They’re just shells of themselves now. Dad spends all his time staring out the window, and Mom barely talks. They’re broken, Liam. Just like me.”

Her fingers tightened into fists as she leaned closer to the gravestone. “Why couldn’t you just come home that night?” she asked, her voice trembling with anger and grief. “Why did you have to die? Why did you have to leave me?”

She let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. “You promised me, Liam. You promised you’d always have my back. But now, I’m here... alone. And I’ll never forgive you for that.”

The weight of her words hung in the air as she slumped forward, resting her forehead against the cool stone. For a moment, all she could hear was the sound of her own breathing, shaky and uneven.

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“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I didn’t mean it. I just... I don’t know how to do this without you.”

The sun sank lower, and the shadows stretched across the ground. Tessa sighed deeply, brushing the dirt off her knees as she stood.

“Goodbye, Liam,” she said softly, her fingers lingering on the gravestone one last time. “I’ll come back soon.”

She turned and began the slow walk home, her steps heavy with the weight of her grief. As she neared the cemetery gates, a breeze swept past her, carrying with it a faint, familiar scent—leather and pine.

Tessa froze, her heart pounding. She whipped around, her eyes scanning the empty graveyard. Nothing. Just rows of silent headstones.

“Liam?” she whispered into the quiet, but only the wind answered.

With a shake of her head, she forced herself to move again. But as she walked, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t as alone as she thought.

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As Tessa walked away from the graveyard, her figure growing smaller with every step, a shadow emerged from behind the old oak tree at the edge of the cemetery.

Liam Hale stood in the fading light, cloaked in the soft glow of dusk. His hands curled into fists at his sides, trembling as he watched his sister retreat into the distance. Every word she had spoken felt like a dagger to what remained of his heart—if he even had one anymore.

Her sobs echoed in his mind, louder than they had been moments ago, each one chipping away at his resolve. “I miss you, Liam. Why did you leave me?”

He closed his eyes, his jaw tightening as he fought the urge to call out to her, to run to her and wrap her in his arms. To tell her the truth.

I didn’t leave you, Tess. I never could. I’ve been here the whole time, just out of reach.

But the words stayed locked inside him, silenced by the cruel reality of what he had become.

His fingers brushed against the cool bark of the tree, grounding him. He leaned back, letting the weight of her grief and his guilt press him further into the shadows.

I’m sorry, Tessa, he thought, his chest aching with every beat of her pain. I never wanted to hurt you. If I could take it all back, I would. I’d do anything to stop your tears. But I can’t. Not now. Not ever.

Though he stood there in the flesh, Liam knew the truth: the brother she loved was gone. The day of the accident had taken him away from her, from their family. What had come back... wasn’t Liam Hale anymore.

He clenched his jaw, the memory of that day flashing in his mind—blinding pain, the coldness of death, and then the darkness that had claimed him. When he had awoken, he wasn’t the same. He wasn’t human.

He let out a shaky breath, his eyes flicking back to Tessa as she disappeared from view. “I did die that day,” he whispered to himself, his voice low and hollow. “And what came back... isn’t meant to stay.”

His gaze dropped to the ground as guilt clawed at him. Staying away was the only way to protect her, to protect everyone. If Tessa knew the truth, if she saw him for what he was now, it would destroy her.

For her sake, and for the safety of the people he loved, Liam Hale had to remain dead.

He turned away from the graveyard, his steps heavy as he melted back into the shadows. Though the night welcomed him like an old friend, the ache in his chest never eased. Piece by piece, what was left of his heart shattered, and he knew it would never heal.

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