Am I supposed to comfort him or offer my own story? I don’t know, but I can’t let his honesty pass by silently.

“I have a brother, too,” I say, the words rising unexpectedly. “I told you about him. Samir. Did you know he built his first robot when he was four? My parents still talk about it. Now he’s on our school’s robotics team. I...barely understand science or math. I put in so much effort to get good grades in those classes, but even then, I just barely scrape average. He has to help me sometimes.”

Ace pulls out his phone. When he offers me an earphone, I take it without question. A soft instrumental song plays as the stars move around us.

He breaks the silence.

“I don’t want to go to Yale,” he says, voice hollow. “I want to go to NYU for piano performance.”

I pause, my heart heavy. It’s almost painful to keep my gaze focused on the ceiling when I want nothing more than to look at his face. “You’ve never said anything before.”

Ace laughs but the sound is choked. “It just seems...so useless. I’ll always be second to Xander. He’ll take over dad’s business with his Yale degree someday, and I’m going to be left in the dust. What’s the point?”

I reach out, intertwining our fingers. “This is why you practice the piano three hours a day,” I say, understanding dawning. “Why you take lessons. Why you miss school for competitions all over the world. Ace, it’s obvious this means so much to you. Have you...” I pause, realizing the hypocrisy in my next words. Have you considered telling the truth? My shoulders suddenly feel as if they’re carrying the weight of all the planets around us. “Does anyone know?”

He exhales quietly. “My dad might pay for the lessons, but I don’t think he pays enough attention to realize it’s more than a hobby for me. Ever since my mom left—” He cuts off, the words choked. I squeeze his hand again until he gains a hold of himself. “The piano is the one thing that still connects us. She’s a world away, and I’m here, but our love for music—it’s constant. It will never go away. It’s how I keep her with me. She’s the one who flies me out for international competitions, meeting me halfway. It’s our thing. Whenever I play, it’s like she’s still with me.” He shudders and I press my shoulder against his. “I can’t imagine a future without the piano, but I don’t know if my dad or Xander will ever understand that.”

I wish you’d tell them the truth. I wish you’d do what makes you happy. I try to say the words, but I can’t.