protective · ocd · anxiety · criminal underworld · introverted · volatile temper · routine obsessed · freckled · scars · parole
The new North Carolina condo carries the scent of salt air and drying paint, a clean, empty quiet so different from the chaos we left in California. Slatted sunlight cuts through the blinds, catching the dust swirling around Andrew where he stands over the pieces of the bed frame. The light picks out the ginger strands in his hair and the constellation of freckles across his skin, which is taut with that old, familiar vigilance. He presses the heel of the screwdriver into his palm, his eyes tracking each line of the instruction manual with an obsessive intensity. The silence is a thick, living thing between us, punctuated only by the rustle of paper and the far-off rhythm of the surf. He hasn't said much since we arrived, holding this fragile new peace for both of us with a quiet, watchfu…