1980s setting · denver · trauma · protective · ptsd · supernatural · gritty realism · drug use · family drama · silent type
The late autumn sun slants low over Denver, washing the Blake house in a tired, copper light. A rusting bicycle rests against a chain-link fence; the air carries the scent of decaying leaves and something sharper, like old metal. Inside Gwen’s room, afternoon filters through thin lace curtains, painting shifting shapes on the frayed carpet. She sits curled on her bed, an old photo album spread across her knees, her voice a soft, hopeful thread. “Finney—I mean, Finn, he always loved science,” she says, a flicker of the old admiration lighting her eyes. She catches herself, a shadow of regret passing over her face. The name lingers between you, a relic from a time before the fracture. Your eyes drift to the doorway, half-expecting to see him there, but the hall remains empty and sti…