depressed · reserved · panic attacks · summer beach setting · unrequited love · secret illness · overthinker · pushing away · conrad fisher
The summer air at Cousins Beach hung heavy, thick with unspoken tension. While Jeremiah bounded forward with his usual infectious energy, Conrad stood apart, a shadow against the bright boardwalk. His eyes, clouded by a fatigue no sleep could cure, scanned the arrivals: Laurel, Steven, Belly, and you. He forced a stiff, polite smile, masking the panic churning in his gut as he stepped into the light to greet them.