Page 25 of Echoes of Us

Y ale's Old Campus shimmered under late spring sunshine, a sea of black graduation robes rippling in the morning breeze.

Ashley hung back from the crowd, watching families cluster around their graduating seniors.

Her heart caught at the sight of them - Margaret Westwood's elegant cream suit, Dale's gentle smile as he adjusted his brother's collar, Cole standing stiffly between them in his graduation robes.

Their father stood slightly apart, his attention caught between his phone and his sons, occasionally glancing up to nod at whatever Margaret was saying.

They looked like a photo from another time - before the tragedy, before the loss. The kind of moment she'd only heard stories about, the kind Cole never wanted to discuss.

Margaret's attention was fixed on Dale as he helped Cole with his hood, her proud smile directed at the wrong son. Cole's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. His father typed something on his phone, probably another work email - some patterns, it seemed, hadn't changed with time.

Ashley's fingers twisted in her sundress - pale blue because Sarah had insisted she not wear black like she was attending a funeral.

She shouldn't be here. Shouldn't be witnessing this private family moment, shouldn't be noticing how Cole's shoulders tensed when his mother praised Dale's help with the graduation preparations, how his eyes flickered to his father's distracted form.

Then Cole's eyes found her through the crowd.

For a heartbeat, everything else fell away. No anger, no cruelty, no poems twisted into cruel games between them. Just Cole, looking at her like he was drowning and she was air.

Something raw and honest flickered across Cole's face. Then Margaret's voice cut through the air - "Cole, darling, stand with your brother for a photo" - and the mask slammed back into place. He turned away, shoulders rigid as he positioned himself beside Dale.

Margaret fussed with Cole's robe, though Dale had already fixed it perfectly. "Thomas put that phone down and take a picture of your sons."

Their father looked up, blinking as if just remembering where he was. "Of course, of course." He pocketed his phone with the air of someone surrendering a lifeline. Through the crowd's chatter, Ashley caught his awkward attempt at conversation. "Big day, son."

"Which one?" Cole's voice was sharp enough to cut glass.

Dale's hand found his brother's shoulder, steadying, grounding. A gesture so subtle Ashley might have missed it if she hadn't been watching so carefully. Cole didn't shrug it off, but his jaw clenched tighter.

"Both of you, of course," Thomas answered, but his eyes lingered on Dale's pristine suit, his perfectly knotted tie. Always the easier son to understand and to be proud of.

Ashley watched Cole's face - saw the moment he closed off completely.

"The ceremony's starting soon," he said, stepping away from his family. "I should line up."

"But we haven't gotten a proper photo," Margaret protested.

"Plenty of time after, Mother." He was already backing away, his eyes finding Ashley's again across the space between them. This time, there was a question in them. Or maybe a challenge.

She accepted that challenge with her gaze.

Cole moved through the crowd with that fluid grace she knew so well, leaving his family behind. His eyes never left hers as he approached, graduation robe billowing slightly in the breeze.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Dale watching them, his expression unreadable. Margaret was saying something to Thomas, who had already returned to his phone.

"You came." Cole's voice was rough when he reached her like he'd been expecting something else. Like he'd been preparing himself for another disappointment.

"I did." She fought the urge to fix his collar where it had gone askew, escaping his mother's fussing.

"Why?"

It's such a simple question. Such an impossible answer. Because I love you. Because I want to love this new version of you.

"Because this is who you are," she said finally. "Not who you might become or who anyone wants you to be. Just... you. Right now. And I wanted to see that."

Something shifted in his expression - surprise, maybe, or recognition. Before she could stop herself, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

This wasn't the familiar embrace she knew from her timeline. This Cole was all sharp angles and tension, and his body coiled tight as if he might bolt at any second.

Then, slowly, his arms came around her. Hesitant at first, then tighter, like he was afraid she'd disappear. He smelled different - no cologne, traces of alcohol he probably had last night - but underneath was something uniquely Cole that made her heart ache.

This wasn't her husband. This was a boy learning to become a man, carrying wounds she was only beginning to understand. And for the first time, she hugged him for who he was, not who he would be.

The bell tolled across campus, and they broke apart. Cole looked at her with awe and confusion, and she tried to reply to his silent questions with a reassuring smile.

"I have to-" he gestured vaguely toward the gathering crowd of black robes.

"I know." She tried to smile. "Congratulations, Cole."

He hesitated, like there was more he wanted to say. Then his name was called from somewhere in the crowd of graduates, and the moment shattered.

As she watched him walk away, Ashley caught Dale's eye across the lawn. He nodded once, a gesture that somehow managed to convey both understanding and forgiveness. Her heart twisted - she didn't deserve it either.

Ashley watched the graduates disperse into the crowd of waiting families. Before she could think better of it, she made her way to where Dale stood, slightly removed from his parents' attention.

"Dale," she called softly. When he turned, his expression was carefully neutral. "Can we talk?"

He nodded, stepping away from the crowd. They found a quiet spot beneath one of the ancient oaks, its shadows dappling the grass between them.

"I wanted to thank you," she began, fingers twisting together. "For that night. For listening. For always being..." She gestured vaguely, searching for words. "Just there. When I needed someone."

"You don't have to-"

"I do." She met his eyes, determined to do this right. "We're going to be working together all summer. And you're Cole's brother. His twin. I don't want things to be weird between us."

Something soft passed across his face. "Come up to my place tonight."

Heat flooded her cheeks immediately. "Oh, I don't think-"

"No!" His eyes widened as he realized how it sounded. A faint blush colored his own face. "God, no, I meant- Some people are coming over. Eddie - you know, Sarah's TA? And a few others who'll be in the lab this summer. Sarah's invited too. Just a small thing, getting to know the research team."

The tension broke as they both laughed, slightly embarrassed but genuine.

"That would be nice," Ashley said, meaning it. "A fresh start."

Dale's smile was warm. "Exactly. Plus, someone needs to explain to Sarah what she's gotten herself into with quantum mechanics."

Looking at him now, Ashley felt something settle in her chest. She could do this - be friends with Dale Westwood. Not because he was Cole's brother, not because of who he reminded her of, but because of who he was: kind, brilliant, and worth knowing in his own right.

* * *

Ashley heard his voice before she saw him. She'd barely raised her hand to knock on Dale's door when it drifted through - that low, familiar tone that still made her heart skip. She froze, fingers hovering inches from the wood. Cole. Here. Now.

She hadn't prepared for this. Had spent the whole walk over rehearsing casual conversation topics with Dale, planning how to navigate their new friendship after the other night's confessions and her new resolve. But Cole's presence changed everything.

Should she leave? But Sarah was already on her way up the stairs behind her, and Dale was expecting them. God, what was the protocol here? Should she acknowledge Cole? Ignore him? Pretend their almost-moment outside graduation hadn't happened?

The door swung open before she could decide, revealing Dale's warm smile. "You made it!"

And there was Cole, sprawled in an armchair as if he owned it, beer bottle dangling from his fingers.

His eyes met hers for a fraction of a second before sliding away, deliberately casual as if they hadn't held each other this morning.

As if she couldn't still feel the phantom press of his graduation robe against her cheek.

Dale's apartment was exactly what she'd expected - warm lighting, overstuffed bookshelves, and a comfortable, lived-in feel.

But Cole's presence made everything feel charged and uncertain.

She'd been so ready for this fresh start, this new page in her relationship with Dale. Now, the very air felt complicated.

Eddie was already there, his lanky frame folded into a corner of the couch, engaged in animated discussion with a petite Asian girl Ashley recognized from the physics department.

She thought she'd heard Dale call her Lisa once.

The way Eddie's eyes kept drifting to her as she spoke suggested this summer's research team might harbor more than purely academic interests.

Two other grad students occupied the floor near the coffee table - James, who she'd seen around campus wearing the same NASA t-shirt he had on now, and Mike, whose Australian accent carried across the room as he argued about quantum theory.

They all had that slightly disheveled look of people who'd just finished finals, relief making them looser, more animated.

It should have been comfortable, this gathering of intelligent, interesting people.

It was the kind of evening that promised good conversation and new friendships.

Instead, Ashley felt every one of Cole's movements like ripples in still water, hyperaware of his presence even as she tried to focus on Dale pouring drinks in the kitchen.

When Dale fumbled with two drinks and a stack of pizza boxes, she found herself rising automatically. "Need help?"

"My hero," he smiled, and she tried not to notice how Cole's lounging posture suddenly stiffened.

The kitchen was small, forcing them to maneuver around each other as they gathered plates and napkins. It felt oddly domestic, the way Dale anticipated her movements, passing her things before she asked. They'd fallen into an easy rhythm by the time they started arranging slices on plates.

"You're good at this," Dale commented, watching her artfully arrange toppings that had slid during delivery.

"Had practice," she said without thinking. "Cole always-" She caught herself, but not before seeing Dale's expression flicker with understanding. From the living room, she heard the distinctive sound of Cole setting his bottle down too hard.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean-"

"It's okay." Dale's voice was gentle. He reached past her for more napkins, his arm brushing hers. "I like that you care about him."

A sharp laugh from the living room made them both turn. Cole had moved to sit beside Lisa, leaning in close to say something that made her giggle. His eyes, though, were fixed on the kitchen doorway where Ashley and Dale stood too close in the small space.

"We should probably..." Ashley gestured vaguely at the waiting plates.

"Yeah." Dale picked up a stack but paused. "For what it's worth? I think he cares about you, too."

When they returned to the group, Cole's gaze followed their every movement, tracking each casual touch and each shared smile, yet he still refused to acknowledge her officially.

As the night progressed, Ashley found herself actually enjoying the easy flow of conversation.

James launched into an enthusiastic explanation of his latest theory about dark matter, and Mike kept interrupting him with increasingly outrageous counter-theories that had everyone questioning if he was making them up just for the fun of it.

"But what if," Mike's eyes gleamed with mischief, "dark matter is just regular matter having a bad day?"

"That's not even remotely how it works-" James spluttered into his beer while Lisa dissolved into giggles.

For the first time in weeks, Ashley felt herself relaxing.

These people were brilliant but real, passionate about their work but not taking themselves too seriously.

When Dale started explaining a complex theory, she actually understood most of it - Cole's tutoring had paid off more than she'd realized.

"Impressive," Dale grinned when she finished his sentence about particle behavior. "Someone's been studying."

She felt rather than saw Cole shift in his chair. For once, she didn't let his presence derail her. This was who she was now - someone who could understand quantum physics, who could make new friends, who could build something real in this timeline.

"Speaking of studying," James piped up, "are we not going to talk about how Professor Martinez almost cried when Lisa solved that impossible equation?"

"It wasn't impossible," Lisa protested, blushing. "Just... improbable."

"Like the probability of Eddie finally asking you out?" Mike dodged the pillow Lisa threw at him, nearly knocking over his drink.

The room dissolved into laughter and teasing, Eddie and Lisa both turning spectacular shades of red. Ashley caught herself grinning, caught up in the genuine warmth of the moment. Even Cole's lips twitched, though he quickly hid it behind his bottle.

"Alright, alright," Dale intervened, though his eyes sparkled with amusement. "Leave the lovebirds alone."

That's when Cole leaned forward, setting his bottle down with deliberate care. The movement drew every eye in the room. His smile was sharp enough to cut as he reached for the empty wine bottle on the coffee table.

"I have a better idea," he said, his voice carrying that dangerous edge Ashley had come to fear. "Who wants to play truth or dare?"

In the sudden quiet, Ashley felt her heart stop. Because Cole wasn't looking at the bottle as he spun it between his fingers.

He was looking directly at her.