What the fuck?!
"Ashley?!"
"Elias?!"
His eyes goggled as he watched his sister run across the street to him. Her lighter brown hair framed her pinked face, front curls sticking to her wet forehead, eyes already teary.
"Oh my God!"
She slammed into him without slowing, arms wrapping around his middle as she sobbed hard, body shaking like she'd been holding it together for far too long.
Elias made a broken sound and tightened his grip around her, breathing her in like oxygen. Her scent hit him so hard his knees almost buckled. His vision blurred as he buried his face in her neck, clutching her like she might vanish if he loosened his hold.
Ashley pulled back just enough to grab his face in both hands. "Is this real?" she whispered desperately. "You're real, right? I'm not hallucinating?"
He laughed and cried at the same time. "Ash. I'm real."
