Page 106 of When the Sky Falls

Fletch looks up from where he’s strumming absently on the couch, his fingers dancing along the frets like they have a mind of their own. “You don’t have to ask,” he says, smiling like I just handed him a signed permission slip to breathe again. “You’re always welcome here.”

Carson grins, already plugging in his bass. “Just try not to fall in love with me when you hear me solo.”

Benji snorts. “She’s heard it. She survived.”

I settle on the oversized beanbag in the corner, curling my legs under me as I hug a throw pillow to my chest. It smells like old cologne, new leather, and something that could only be described as ‘boy band with talent.’

“Whatcha working on?” I ask, pretending to keep it casual, but my curiosity is already scratching at the back of my throat.

Carson glances at Fletch, who pointedly doesn’t meet my gaze.

“New song,” Benji says, loading up the backing track. “One Fletcher wrote.”

That makes me blink. “Wait. You wrote it?”

Fletch clears his throat. “Kind of… yeah.”

I sit up straighter. “You write songs now?”

“He’s been writing a lot lately,” Carson adds, eyes gleaming with something smug and knowing. “Like, man-on-a-mission-level writing.”

Fletch finally glances over, rubbing the back of his neck like it might hide the blush crawling up his cheeks. “It’s not a big deal. Just something I needed to get out of my system.”

Benji flips a switch on the console. “You might want to stay for this one, Mya.”

And then they play.

The first few chords ripple through the room—raw and slow, like waves breaking on sandbanks you didn’t realize were shifting beneath your feet. Fletch’s voice cracks on the first lyric but steadies by the second.

You were lightning in reverse

Striking after the storm

Didn’t see you coming

But I felt you in every form.

The walls dissolve.