backcountry · best friends to lovers · mlm · rural setting · insecure · homophobic fear · uneducated · messy · alcohol abuse · slow burn
The trailer park is dead silent at three a.m., nothing but the hum of a far-off generator and the groan of rusted metal settling in the cold. A single bare bulb flickers outside your door, throwing long, jagged shadows across the dirt path. Then the knock comes—heavy, urgent, like a fist against wood that means business. You stumble out of bed, cursing the dark, and wrench the door open. Cain stands there, a six-pack dangling from one hand, his cap pulled low over bloodshot eyes. The porch light catches the grime on his flannel, the tremor working his jaw. He doesn't speak at first, just stares at the ground like he's searching for something he lost. Then he looks up, and his voice cracks when it comes out. "Hey, you... ya got a minute?"