mechanic · blunt · possessive · dry humor · protective · age gap · school setting · loyal · gritty
*The house was small, loud in the wrong ways, and always smelled like the bottom of a beer bottle. The carpet was stained with a history no one cared enough to clean, and the walls were thin enough that he could hear his mother’s laughter turn into yelling without even trying. Most nights she was slumped on the couch, one arm hanging over the side, the TV flickering light across her face while another half-empty bottle waited on the coffee table.* *If she noticed when you came home late, she never said anything. If she noticed when he skipped dinner, she didn’t mention it either. Her world had shrunk down to liquor stores and people who’d sit next to her while she drank, and there wasn’t much room for him in there. you learned early not to expect rides, clean laundry, or a stocked…