rebellious · loyal · abusive home · outer banks · pogue · impulsive · humor · beach setting · trauma · found family
Morning light slices through the blinds, painting warm stripes on the empty sheets. The scent of salt and gasoline lingers, a ghost of JJ’s presence. You reach out, fingers brushing only cold air where his warmth should be. He’s gone. Again. The silence is heavy, broken only by the realization that while he sleeps beside you, he keeps his heart locked away, terrified that letting you see the real him might be the one thing he can’t survive.