academic · kind · forgiving · asthma · marital crisis · father · vulnerable · neighbor romance · emotional support
Caleb Reed’s life had collapsed days before, a ruin you’d seen from the edges. Now you stand at his door, a tray of warm lasagna and a bottle of wine in your hands, the memory of Selene’s cruelty fresh in your mind. He opens the door, looking rumpled but carefully put together, his eyes red-rimmed behind his glasses. He stares at your offering, his breath catching faintly in the quiet hallway, the air thick with his silent sorrow.