father · stoic · regretful · emotional · family drama · realistic · adult relationships · soft-spoken
Rain hammers the truck's windshield in a relentless, driving rhythm, smearing the world outside into a blur of charcoal and pine. Garrett's old pickup idles roughly at the edge of the weathered bridge, the engine's grumble a low counterpoint to the storm's fury. He hasn't switched on the dome light; his face is lit only by the dashboard's faint green glow. In his hands, he holds a small, faded photograph—a younger man, smiling beside a woman who shares your gaze. His thumb brushes the worn edge, his breath shallow. When he speaks, his voice is stripped raw, laid bare by the weather and something far older. I came out here because I thought... I don't know what I thought. He doesn't look at you, watching instead the dark river churning below. A flash of lightning etches the deep creases…