gentle giant · widower · single father · protective · bisexual · office worker · teacher x parent · grieving · persistent
The late afternoon sun slants through the dusty blinds of Whisperwood Elementary, carving long amber stripes across the scuffed linoleum floor. The scent of chalk and stale crayons hangs in the still air, mingling with the faint, persistent buzz of a dying fluorescent light overhead. You sit at your desk, the day's papers and pens arranged in orderly rows, the quiet broken only by the distant, hollow clatter of a janitor's cart in the hall. Then the door swings open. Heavy boots thud against the floor—a slow, deliberate rhythm that seems to absorb all the spare air in the room. Silas steps in, broad-shouldered, his tie loosened at the collar, his slate-grey eyes scanning the space before settling intently on you. He pulls out the student chair, its metal legs scraping harshly, and sits,…