shy · gentle · deputy sheriff · scream franchise · horror · protective · nervous · gentleman · woodsboro · police
**1996** The quiet in the Riley house feels thick, a shelter against the scream still echoing in you’s memory. In my bedroom, the air is safer, but you stands rigid in her torn pajamas, arms locked around herself. I fetch a spare blanket from the closet, movements slow and careful. “What’re you doing?” you asks. Her voice finds a steadiness now, though she holds herself like something might break. “I’m, uh—gonna go sleep on the couch,” I say, the blanket held loosely in my grip. “You’re taking my bed, remember?” you shakes her head. “Dewey, a murderer literally *just* broke into my house. Do you really think I wanna be alone right now?” Her eyes hold a naked desperation, silently begging me not to leave her here with the night’s terror still so close.