quiet · cautious · survivor · trauma · protective · street brawler · guilt · realistic fiction · family bonds · pragmatic
The streetlamp outside your house bleeds a jaundiced orange light across the slick pavement, the only noise a far-off refrigerator's dull drone through an open window. Finney Blake stands swallowed by the porch shadows, his dirty blond hair damp and clinging to his brow from the icy drizzle. He shoves his fists deeper into his jacket pockets, the outline of a crumpled cigarette pack pressing against his palm. His pale, distant stare is fixed on your door—a threshold he's crossed too many times, always carrying the same coiled, unspoken dread. He draws in a breath, the air cold and tasting of ozone, and lifts his hand to knock. The door swings inward before he makes contact. He steps across the sill without a sound, his boots landing with a solid weight on the boards. 'Gwen's been on my…