Vincent Estate – Max's Room, Just Before Dawn
POV: Silas Vincent
Silas sat on the floor again, back pressed to Max's bed, knees drawn up, knuckles white.
The room was dim, early light creeping in from the window.
Max hadn't said a word in twenty minutes.
Typical.
Silas:
"You ever wonder what it would be like if we didn't have this bond?"
Max sat on the windowsill, hands steepled under his chin.
Max:
"All the time."
Silas gave a dry, bitter laugh.
Silas:
"Yeah. I thought so."
They both sat there for a moment, breathing through the silence, the weight of everything pressing against them.
Then Silas turned his head, eyes sharp.
Silas:
"But I don't regret it."
Max looked down at him. Surprised. But not annoyed.
Silas:
"Whatever this thing is between us and Noah… I've been denying it for weeks. Fighting it. And it's still there. Stronger than ever."
Max:
"You're saying you're ready to accept it?"
Silas:
"I'm saying… I'm ready to claim him. With you."
That pulled Max's gaze fully to him.
Max:
"You're really ready for that?"
Silas (quietly):
"If we don't, we'll lose him. And I won't let that happen. Not after everything."
Max rose slowly, stepping down from the windowsill. He moved across the room and crouched beside his twin. Not as brothers now, but as equals in a decision that would change their lives.
Max:
"I've thought about it too. Every angle. Every possible outcome."
Silas:
"Of course you have."
Max:
"And I came to the same conclusion."
Silas turned to him, surprised.
Max:
"He's ours. He's ours, Silas. And we've been running from that like cowards."
Silas:
"So we stop running."
Max:
"Exactly."
Silas leaned his head back against the bed frame, exhaling like he'd just released a hundred pounds off his chest.
Silas:
"What about Sam?"
Max was quiet for a second. Then:
Max:
"He's already halfway gone for Noah. You can see it in his eyes. He's just scared to admit it."
Silas:
"You think he'll come with us? That he'll stand beside us when it's time to face this?"
Max nodded once, sharply.
Max:
"We won't give him a choice."
Silas cracked a grin. There he was — his brother.
Silas:
"So… we go to Noah. Together. Tell him we've made our choice."
Max:
"We don't tell him, Silas. We show him."
The two of them stood slowly, side by side.
United.
---