Chapter Text
“Cause I lost my faith… I’m losing my religion every day…”
The hallway was quiet, save for the low hum of the fridge and the occasional creak of the old floorboards. Sam stood in the doorway, watching Colby from across the room. He hadn’t moved in hours.
Colby sat on the edge of the couch, elbows on knees, head bowed like he was praying — but Sam knew better. There was no prayer in him anymore. Just silence. Just static.
The light from the TV flickered across his face, casting shadows under his eyes. He looked like a ghost of himself — the version Sam used to know buried somewhere beneath the weight of sleepless nights and whatever he was trying to forget.
“Colby,” Sam said softly.
No answer.
He stepped closer. “You haven’t eaten.”
Still nothing.
Sam’s voice cracked. “You can’t keep doing this.”
Colby finally looked up. His eyes were bloodshot, not from crying — Sam would’ve preferred that — but from something colder. Numbness. Detachment. The kind of emptiness that made you forget what day it was. Or why you were still here.
“I’m fine,” Colby muttered.
“You’re not,” Sam said, kneeling in front of him. “You haven’t been fine in weeks.”
Colby gave a hollow laugh. “Weeks? Try months.”
Sam swallowed hard. “Then let me help.”
Colby’s gaze drifted past him, toward the window. Outside, the city lights blinked like distant stars — unreachable, indifferent.
“I lost it,” he said finally. “Whatever it was that kept me going. It’s gone.”
Sam’s chest tightened. “Your faith?”
Colby nodded slowly. “In everything. In people. In myself. In… us.”
The words hit like a punch. Sam didn’t flinch, but he felt it — deep and sharp.
“I don’t know how to fix this,” Colby whispered. “I don’t even know if I want to.”
Sam reached out, fingers brushing Colby’s. “Then let me want it for you. Just for now.”
For a moment, Colby didn’t pull away.
But he didn’t hold on either.
End of Chapter 1