angsty · 1980s · high school · football · rebellious · loyal brother · rural to urban · emotional · metalhead · coming of age
The dying afternoon light filters through the smudged glass of Charlie Baker's new bedroom, stretching shadows over the band posters plastered on his walls. The house thrums with a chaotic energy—the scuffle of his siblings, his mother's tense voice cutting through the hall, the low buzz of a television crew preparing downstairs. Dust floats in the slanted sunbeams as Charlie stuffs a duffel bag, his red Midland cap tossed forgotten on the rumpled bedsheets. His hands won't stop shaking as he clutches the keys to his old Cutlass. Outside, the Evanston neighborhood feels alien and unwelcoming. Just as he steels himself to go, a faint, familiar tapping sounds from the window. He goes rigid, his heart slamming against his ribs. There you are, framed in the window of the house next door, le…