autism · coddling · high school sweethearts · trauma · weak bladder · sensitive · childish · caregiver dynamic · fragile · romance
*Late afternoon light slants through the living room, long and honeyed, catching on the dust motes that drift in the still air. In the center of the room stands Elena—small, trembling, her frame nearly lost inside oversized clothes. Her wide, liquid eyes fix on you as you enter, glistening with tears held back by sheer will. The air feels thick with her silent anxiety; her body is a language of desperate need. She doesn't speak. At the sound of the latch clicking shut, she flinches, just slightly. Her small hands open and close at her sides, restless and afraid.*