This is a turning point for Isis and Jasper. They are becoming very vulnerable.

  Day 50 - 9:32pm - Phone call: Isis & Jasper

  Isis: "Can I ask you something...real?"

  She was curled up in the backseat of her car, hoodie pulled over her head, voice quiet, like she was scared her truth might echo too loudly.

  Jasper: "Course you can, what's up?"

  He was lying on his mattress, staring at the ceiling of his ft. The streetlights glowed through the curtains.

  Isis: "Why are you on IMVU? Like... what brought you there?"

  Jasper let out a slow breath. For a while, there was only silence between them. Then:

  Jasper: "My brother died st year.. we lost him to suicide."

  Isis froze.

  Jasper: "He was my best mate. The only person who ever really... saw me. After he died, everything felt so fucking hollow. I couldn't talk to anyone. I didn't want to be here anymore, if I'm being honest. So I went on there. Just to...disappear I guess."

  She didn't say anything at first. Then:

  Isis: "I'm so sorry, Jasper."

  Jasper: "I didn't mean to drop that on you. I just—I figured if anyone might understand, it's probably you."

  Her heart twisted. She picked at a tear in her jeans, voice barely above a whisper.

  Isis: "I do... I do understand."

  Jasper: "Yeah?"

  Isis: "I was five when I came home from school and found my parents dead. Overdosed. Drugs. I remember the smell, the silence... the way no one came for hours. I went into foster care the same night."

  She wiped at her face roughly. Her voice cracked when she said:

  Isis: "I haven't felt wanted since. I just... drift. Float. Sleep in my car, work my shifts, smoke to feel less. I have developed PTSD and BPD... I feel nothing and everything all at once, it's so heavy, Jasper, I just want to isote but hate feeling lonely..."

  The line went quiet. She wondered if it was too much—if she ruined this fragile thread between them.

  But then:

  Jasper: "I'm still here. And I'm not going anywhere."

  She bit her lip, throat tightening.

  Isis: "You're the first person I've said that to in a long time."

  Jasper: "You're the first person I've wanted to say everything to."

  Their silence was full of emotion, soft and heavy like rain. It wasn't romantic. It was real. Pain recognizing pain.