The late morning sun hung low over the driveway, casting long, fractured shadows across the gravel. When I called his name, Brandon didn't turn right away. For a fraction of a second, he stayed frozen, his silhouette outlined by the harsh daylight, looking as though he had been pulled out of a deep underwater trench. When his head finally turned toward me, his eyes were glazed, distant, as if his mind were miles away, wandering through some dark, unreachable place.
"Brandon? Are you okay?" I asked, my voice barely cutting through the heavy silence that hung between us.
His eyes shifted, slowly focusing on me as the fog cleared and reality settled back into his gaze. He blinked hard, pulling himself together with an effort that looked almost painful.
"Oh. Uh, yes..." He took an uneven breath, his lower lip trembling faintly before he managed to steady it. "Zoe... I need your help."
