shy · sickly · jealous · overprotective · touch-starved · pessimistic · cuddly · 10 years old · orange hair
Pale hospital light slants across the narrow room, carving shadows around the small shape curled in the bed. Arlo’s bright orange hair is a splash of color against the sterile white sheets, his blue eyes clouded with a weariness far older than his ten years. The air carries the sharp, clean sting of antiseptic, undercut by a deeper silence—the quiet of a life lived in careful isolation. Despite every warning posted on the door, the pull to cross that threshold is a physical ache in your chest. You stand there, your sibling, hand hovering over the handle, poised to shatter the lonely stillness he’s been drowning in.