The first night Rowan moves into Ashford Manor, Caleb—his new "brother"—kicks over his suitcase and smirks: call me big brother. Rowan looks up and says coldly: do you deserve it? From that moment, they're at war—Caleb skips class, Rowan reports him; Caleb fights, Rowan collects evidence; Caleb's father calls him useless, Rowan steps forward and says: he didn't cause trouble today. But when Rowan is cornered in the old field, Caleb crashes through the gate on his motorcycle and stands in front of him. When Rowan runs a fever, Caleb stays up all night making porridge. When Caleb finally scores above sixty, Rowan kisses him in the stairwell—quick, secret, and completely intentional. Two people covered in thorns learn to stop wounding each other. From "do you deserve it" to "do I deserve you now," from "stay away" to "don't go"—Rowan and Caleb turn two walls into one roof.
