He laughed, and that was the start of everything.
We began studying together that same week. Then we started eating meals between classes, walking each other home after late nights at the library, and talking about the future like it was something already waiting for us.
Marcus wanted internal medicine. I wanted emergency medicine.
He liked plans. I liked momentum.
He made me feel steadier. I made him laugh when he forgot how.
Back then, I thought that was enough.
Love, hard work, and a shared dream.
Then his family fell apart.
His father lost the business. His mother’s health got worse. Money disappeared so quickly it felt unreal. I still remember the night Marcus sat on the floor of my apartment with his tuition statement in his hand, staring at it like it had personally betrayed him.
That was the first time I saw what fear did to him.
“I think that’s it,” he said.
“It isn’t.”
“I can’t pay next semester.”
