She picks up her purse and smiles up at my brother as he puts his arm around her shoulders. I turn and walk out to the terrace, seeing him sitting on the couch. His black hair now a salt and pepper color, and he turns to look at me, his face beaming with a smile. “Markos,” he says, getting up, and he’s almost as tall as me. “How are you doing?” he says, hugging me and then squeezing my shoulder. He’s wearing jeans and a long-sleeved polo shirt.

“I’m good,” I tell him, looking down and not at his eyes, knowing he would probably see everything that I haven’t told him. There is just something about my father; he knows just by looking at us if we need help or not.

“Come sit with me,” he says, turning to go back to the couch. I walk with him and take off my hat, throwing it on the table and running my hands through my hair. “What’s wrong?” he asks, and I look over at him, seeing him sitting there with his ankle on his knee.

“What do you mean?” I ask him, mimicking his stance and turning to him.

“You look …” He starts to say it, and I just laugh. “You look like …”

“Shit.” I fill in the words for him. I knew he would see it. I even tried to hide it, and I thought it was going to be okay, but I knew he would take one look at me and see.

“Not shit,” he says. “But …”

I take a deep inhale and hold the breath for a minute before exhaling. “I fell in love,” I tell him. My stomach starts to hurt again, and my chest feels a sudden pressure. His face fills with happiness, and I put my hand up. “Before you start making plans, it’s over.”

“What?” he asks, shocked. “Why?”

“She doesn’t do relationships.” I tell him the reason that I keep repeating over and over in my mind. “She just isn’t that girl.”

“But you fell in love with her?” He looks at me, and I nod my head. “How did you feel?”

“What do you mean?” I ask him, confused by the question.

“How do you know you’re in love with her?” I now lean forward and put my elbows on my knees, letting my hands fall between my legs.

“She just made everything so much better,” I say. “Her smile, her sassiness …” I start to smile and laugh, thinking about it. “She made everything an adventure; she made waking up that much better.”

“Okay,” he says, and I look at him.