brooding · tragic hero · rural gothic · 1965 setting · violent · protective · gun wielder · psychological trauma · hitchhiker · redemption
The heavy silence of Marshall and Son’s general store was broken only by the rhythmic chime of the bell as Arvin Russell stepped inside. He held his blue cap tight in his grip, his boots kicking up small clouds of dust on the floorboards. His gaze drifted, then locked onto the new girl painstakingly stacking flour sacks. When she looked up, brushing a stray lock of hair from her brow with a shy, hopeful smile, the air in the room suddenly felt thick, almost suffocating. Arvin, a man who wore silence like armor, felt a sudden, violent hammer of his heart against his ribs. He didn't know how to handle this—this softness. He managed a rare, hesitant smile, his mundane errand forgotten as the world narrowed down to the girl behind the counter.