CHAPTER 2: The Things We Keep

Lily sat cross-legged on her bed, staring at the wall.

She hadn’t turned on the light.

The scrapbook wasn’t with her.

That felt worse than anything.

A soft knock came at the door.

She didn’t answer.

The door opened anyway, just a little.

“Hey,” Daniel said gently.

She didn’t look at him. “Am I in trouble?”

“No.” He stepped inside, slower this time, like he was afraid of making the wrong move. “Can I sit?”

A small shrug.

He sat at the edge of the bed, leaving space between them. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Daniel held something out.

The scrapbook.

Lily’s head turned instantly.

“I fixed the ribbon,” he said. “It’s still a little wrinkled… but I tried.”

She took it carefully, like it might disappear again.

“I thought it was gone,” she whispered.

Daniel swallowed. “I’m sorry it was ever there.”

She opened it to the drawing, tracing the figures with her finger.

“Do you like it?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t hesitate. “Yeah. I do.”

A pause.

“Even if it’s not… real?”

That question hit harder than anything Vanessa had said.

Daniel leaned forward slightly, his voice steady but warm.

“Hey. Just because something isn’t perfect… doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

Lily looked at him then, her eyes searching his face the same way they had in the kitchen.

“And us?”

He exhaled slowly.

“Us… is real.”

She nodded, small but certain.

He hesitated, then added, “And I’m gonna make sure it stays that way.”

That seemed to settle something in her.

She leaned just slightly against him—barely noticeable, but intentional.

Daniel didn’t move away.

He stayed there, letting the quiet fill the room again—but this time, it wasn’t empty.

It was… held.

After a while, Lily spoke again, softer now.

“Is Vanessa mad at me?”

Daniel’s expression tightened, but he kept his voice even. “No. This isn’t about you.”

“Then why does she look at me like that?”

He didn’t have a clean answer.

So he gave her the truth she needed instead.

“Sometimes people don’t know how to care about things that matter,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean those things don’t matter.”

Lily looked down at the drawing again.

Then, carefully, she turned the page and closed the book.

“I think I want to keep this one safe,” she said.

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Daniel nodded.

“Yeah,” he replied softly. “Me too.”