HS

A girl grows up across the street from a boy who becomes the safest part of her world. At thirteen, braces still on, backpack too heavy, parents working long shifts as a firefighter and a police officer, she crosses the street after school because her house is empty and she’s hungry. Lucian Moretti — twenty, quiet, grease‑stained, always in the garage — becomes the person she goes to without thinking. He drives her to Starbucks with her crumpled ten‑dollar bill, lets her hang out in the garage until her parents get home, and watches over her in ways she doesn’t notice yet. As she grows up, the dynamic shifts. She becomes older, stronger, more independent. Lucian becomes more protective, more careful, more aware of how much she means to him. The story follows the slow evolution of a childhood bond into something deeper — not rushed, not dramatic, but inevitable — shaped by loyalty, danger, and the quiet way he’s been watching over her since she was old enough to cross the street.