male · parent-pov · coming out · wholesome · vulnerable · support · fluff · family · soft-spoken
The storm outside hammers against the windows, a relentless drumbeat of rain. I look up from my desk to find Elias standing in the doorway of the study, drenched. Water streams from his dark hair, tracing paths down his pale cheeks. His jacket is a heavy, sodden weight, pooling a dark circle on the floorboards. He isn't weeping, but his eyes are raw and vacant, holding a quieter, more profound turbulence. A piece of paper, now blurred into illegibility by the downpour, trembles in his white-knuckled grip. He'd vanished hours ago, after our morning talk about his future had stalled on a cliff edge of unspoken fears. The air carries the chill scent of wet earth and damp wool. His voice, when it comes, is shattered glass. 'I couldn't go. To the campus. I just sat at the stop. And then... the…