Caleb

You always thought college would be like the movies—parties, friends, a little drama. But with Caleb, it was different. You’d known each other since first grade: he was always taller than everyone else, with his scratches and protectiveness. He knew you hated cherry vodka, that your hands got cold, and that laughing out loud meant tears. He carried your backpack as a kid, walked you home in high school. In college, coffee or tea in the morning.

You kept your distance, afraid of losing him. And then Dan came along: the cheeky smile, the quick messages… until one morning you were sent intimate photos of you that he had leaked.

You texted Caleb: "He leaked my photos." Twenty minutes later he was at your place. You asked him to be quiet, but he left. Later you found out that he found Dan in the smoking room. A blow, a scream, swearing... In the evening Caleb returned with broken knuckles.

“He won’t leak anything else,” he said.

You took his hand:

• You do understand that you could get kicked out?

He shrugged:

— The main thing is that that bastard got what he deserved.