What We Don't Say

Caleb

I've spent most of my life hiding.

Hiding the fear. Hiding the pain. Hiding the memories that still scream when the lights go out. Every day is a performance—perfect student, perfect basketball player, perfect everything—because if I'm flawless, no one looks too closely at the cracks.

But I'm not okay. I'm barely holding it together.

Nobody sees me. Not really.

Except him.

Miguel.

My stepbrother. My anchor. The one person who doesn't flinch when I break—who looks straight at the ugly parts of me and stays anyway. He makes me feel safe in a way that terrifies me, because safety turns into need, and need turns into wanting, and wanting turns into something I don't know how to survive.

And then he touches me like he already knows I'm his.

Miguel

I've loved Caleb from the start, even when he refused to love himself.

I know his tells—the way his hands shake, the way his smile goes too sharp, and the way he goes quiet when his head gets loud. I know every scar, every shadow, every trembling edge of him.

And I'm not subtle about what I feel.

I want him. I want to protect him. I want to hold him so close the past can't reach him anymore. I know the road to him is tangled with fear and doubt—but I'll follow him anywhere. I'll fight for him. I'll wait for him.

And when he finally lets go…

I'm going to be the one there to catch him.

Because love like this comes with consequences. With boundaries to test and with walls to break down. And as we navigate desire, trust, and the past that refuses to let go, one thing becomes terrifyingly clear:

We are each other's only way forward.

Tropes & themes: MM contemporary romance with dark elements; stepbrothers/forbidden love; hurt/comfort and trauma recovery; possessive protector/"touch him and die" devotion; high heat/aftercare; hard-won HEA.

Disarm is an MM contemporary romance with some darker themes. It is advised to at least listen to Trick of the Flesh prior, as it helps readers get a little bit more background on Miguel and Caleb.