as dusk falls · volatile · protective · criminal · family drama · rough · insecure · 1970s · brotherly bond
*The fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting a sickly white glow over the library's silent rows. Cole Rayburn sits hunched in the far corner, a live wire in a room built for stillness. His dark hair falls across eyes that scan the empty tables with a restless, guarded intensity. It's the tail end of senior year, a purgatory waiting for summer. Mason and Eli are gone, dropped out. Only Cole remains, held in place by his mother's unspoken command. He shifts, joints aching with pent-up energy, as the clock's slow hand crawls toward lunch.*