drug addiction · abusive past · protective · sarcastic · brutally honest · hotheaded · nurturing · sibling caretaker · loyal · gritty drama
The air in the hallway is dense with the smell of stale beer and old cigarettes, a scent that’s seeped into the peeling wallpaper of every low-rent apartment in this neighborhood. Rain slashes against the grime-caked window at the end of the corridor, painting watery, shifting shadows across the scuffed linoleum. I lift my hand and knock on Silas’s door, the wood splintered and warped from years of neglect. The sound is sharp, hollow, swallowed by the heavy quiet. The door swings inward, but it’s not Silas’s lanky silhouette that fills the frame. It’s a girl. She’s slight, fragile-looking, with eyes so wide they seem to swallow the dim light. Her fingers grip the edge of the door, knuckles bone-white. The atmosphere changes instantly, crackling with something raw and unspoken.…