Keegan arrived promptly at 7am on the doorstep of her half-brother clutching a transparent package in her hand. She always found herself pleasantly surprised at the way modern methods of transport allowed items to be delivered the day after they'd been ordered. She had tossed and turned all night, half excited and half terrified at the challenge that lay ahead of her. Keegan had never had a best friend, she had girls she was friendly enough with to message and ask about homework but that was about the biggest interaction she could have. Sometimes she studied friendship groups, how girls would clutch each other and laugh like they had told the funniest joke in the world, pout in the bathroom mirrors and share their lunches. She also saw the tears, the drama, the shady social media posts after a group had broken up.

The thought of the stress that went into close female friendships had been enough to keep her well away from them. But that didn't mean she didn't care about people, not like Curtis. If someone came into her life and actually stayed there was a chance that she could build a friendship, but there seemed to be a shortage of people in the world who showed an interest in her. Keegan almost stopped herself before knocking on the door, she had responded to Noah's letter and he obviously needed help but people had a habit of losing interest in her quickly, that was the ironic thing how he thought she would abandon him. She shook herself of her thoughts, she wasn't going to let her own insecurities stop her from genuinely helping someone.

It was a Saturday, her parents would wake up later for what they called 'relaxed breakfast' which entailed everyone sitting together but separately scrolling on their phones and a half hearted attempt at a conversation about how school had been. Curtis opened the door and she almost fell back off the stairs in shock, this was the first time she had seen him look anything but completely polished, his hair was rumpled and the vest underneath his silk robe, because of course Curtis wore silk robes, was stained. His eyes were bloodshot and if she hadn't known her half-brother was completely devoid of emotion she would have said that he'd been crying.

"Don't collapse from shock, I know, I look completely awful." he said, stepping aside to let her in.

She had to be careful with her words, everything was measured around Curtis.

But Keegan couldn't help herself, they'd never been close but she had to at least ask.

"Everything okay?" 

"Well your friends still asleep so if you mean on that count, everything is okay yes." he ran a hand through his hair.

"I mean with you." she replied.

He walked over to his sparkling white counter and began taking mugs out of cupboards.

"Do you drink coffee? Because I'm going to need it for this conversation."

She didn't drink coffee, unless it was extremely diluted with milk and a few heaped tablespoons of sugar but she knew he would look down on her way of drinking his beloved beverage so she nodded then winced as he handed her a cup of black coffee without even thinking to ask her if she used milk.

"I'm just going to cut to it because I'll probably have to tell Mum soon. My company, Harding and Son is going into administration, they called yesterday and I thought I was going to be heading for a promotion I mean they've been hinting for months but no, I'm most likely going to lose my job."

Keegan had no idea what to say. She wanted to say that he was super successful and that he was always in control so he should be able to bounce back from this. He was Curtis, he didn't have problems like everyone else had, he was a super human, but saying any of this at the moment wouldn't have been very tactful. 

"I'm so sorry to hear that... if there's anything I can do to help then let me know."

She expected a cutting remark, she'd immediately regretted the words when they'd left her mouth what could he possibly want from her?

"Keegan I want to ask you something, I know our visits have been limited and our interactions with each other kept to a bare minimum. For so long the only thing that I've thought important was the company. I worked solidly hard for years to get to the position I am but now there's been one phone call and it's like everything I thought was my life has gone in an instant. And it's never mattered before, at any other time I'd already be on the phone lining up potential interviews and persuading companies that I'm whats missing in their team." 

Curtis paused, looking down at his coffee, which he hadn't taken one sip of as if it could hold all the answers he was looking for.

"But?" she prompted when the silence became too long to bear, she felt like for once she was actually digging deeper under the surface with Curtis.

"But, today I've woken up and realised just how sad it all really is. I shouldn't be so committed to work that now that I don't have a secure job it feels like my life is over. Everyone else my age is getting married, or having children. I would run into an old schoolmate and laugh at them in private pushing along their buggies, stuck with a family to provide for but I don't think I've ever seen people as happy as they are when their kid walks for the first time. I just feel so empty, and I hate this feeling because it's not me."

Why did she feel like she could perfectly relate to Curtis in this moment?

He laughed when he looked up and saw her face.

"Or I could just be completely overthinking everything and be back to my normal self tomorrow if that's what you want."

"It's not what I want" she said suddenly.

"Curtis I think everything you've said is perfectly true. I mean I've thought it for a while but it wasn't really my place to say anything, I mean you're  practically a millionaire I know you save everything... why not just take your first break from work since the day you could write and just see what can happen in life when your not following a strict timetable. But doesn't it ever strike you as crazy that you have all this money but there isn't anyone to spend it on, to share it with?"

He met her eye.

"Maybe I might just do that."

Keegan took a sip of the disgusting coffee almost relishing its bitterness and smiled.