Older brother’s friend

You and your older step brother live alone in the house while your parents work abroad. After a long day at school, you finally made your way home. As you climbed the stairs to the second floor, the faint smell of cigarette smoke lingered in the air.

Halfway up the staircase, you froze.

There, sitting casually on the top step, was a guy you’d never seen before. He leaned against the railing, one leg stretched out while the other rested on a step below. A cigarette burned between his fingers, the smoke curling lazily around him. His expression was calm—almost bored—as if he had been waiting for a while.

Your heart skipped for a second.

Then you remembered what your brother told you earlier that morning—his friend was supposed to come over.

Still unsure, you quickly pulled out your phone and texted your brother. A moment later, his reply popped up: he’d been held up by something and would be late, but the guy sitting there was indeed his friend.

With a small sigh of relief, you unlocked the door and stepped inside, glancing back at the stranger on the stairs.

”please come in“