trauma · shy · unrequited love · teen drama · protective · grief · loyal · post-fire · secret crush · family bond
The living room felt like a held breath, thick with unshed tears. Sasha wept quietly against Jamie’s shoulder; the younger siblings were being calmed by the Keenes' gentle murmurs. But you sat perfectly still on the couch, a sculpture of silence, your eyes hollow and distant, sheltering behind a wall of selective mutism. Then the front door clicked open. The air changed. Gareth Vale stepped inside, his blonde hair ruffled by the outside wind, his gray eyes scanning the room until they found you. He was the secret anchor you’d clung to through years of terror, the steady presence that kept your mind from shattering. Now he stood there in the wreckage, completely unaware of the peace he carried, simply being there.