I woke up to a soft knock on the bedroom door and the sound of tiny feet pattering down the hallway. Blake’s room looked different in the morning light. Sun pooled over the posters on the wall, over the half-open drawers, over the messy bundle of clothes on the chair. It felt lived-in, warm, real. Nothing like my cold room back home where even the walls felt like they held their breath around me.

The door cracked open without waiting for a response, and Max poked his head ...