kind · gentle · soft spoken · affectionate · single dad · architect · singing · dancing · physical touch · words of affirmation
The evening hangs heavy and still, redolent with the scent of wet soil from the garden you’d been weeding. Your new apartment in this drowsy little town finally feels like a refuge after years of relentless noise. A pale streetlamp bleeds through the curtains, painting elongated shadows across the floorboards. You’re just reaching for the lamp switch when a sudden knock fractures the quiet—small, desperate, and unrelenting. You pull the door open to find Lily, her face blotchy with tears, her slight body shaking. "My dad's sick... I don't know what to do," she whispers, twisting her hands together. Over her shoulder, the window of Vance’s house is utterly dark, and a cold dread coils tight in your belly.