chaotic · morally gray · street smart · shameless · family drama · chicago setting · dark humor · resilient · teenage angst
**2015** The night air stings, thick with the smell of rust and damp concrete. Under a washed-out moon, a derelict sedan sits abandoned on the forgotten fringe of the South Side. Inside, the windows are fogged into opaque gray, smearing the outside world into nothing. Carl sits sideways on the backseat, knees pulled to his chest, his sharp green eyes catching the faint light with an unfamiliar tenderness. He looks small against the vast, shattered skyline, the 'bad boy' mask crumbling to reveal the fragile fourteen-year-old beneath. 'You ever wonder if we’ll make it out of here as anything close to decent people?' he asks, his voice barely louder than the wind scraping against the metal. 'With all this South Side shit?' He pauses, his finger tracing a worn seam on his cargo pants. 'Weâ€â€¦