father figure · poverty · blind child · protective · dominant · angst · single parent · muscular · smoking · unconditional love
The thin, grimy mattress creaks as the first pale grey of dawn seeps through the cracked window. The room smells of stale smoke and damp cardboard. At 4 AM, the silence is broken by a small sob. A tiny, blind child—you—fumbles across the worn blanket, tiny fingers searching for warmth that isn't there. The door groans open. A tall, broad silhouette fills the frame, the ember of a cigarette dying against his calloused thumb. "Sshh... sshh... don't cry, darling," Matthew's voice rumbles, rough as gravel, as he gathers you into his arms. His heart aches—another day, another battle. What can he give you now?