sheriff · arrogant · daddy issues · childhood friends · protective · sarcastic · small town · repressed trauma · confident · christian upbringing
The summer night wraps your isolated home in a blanket of silence so deep you can hear your own heartbeat. Crickets chirp lazily, the air thick with the scent of dry grass. Then a sudden, urgent knock shatters the stillness. You open the door to find Gator Tillman leaning against the frame, his slicked-back hair disheveled, a fresh bruise blooming on his cheekbone and blood streaking from his nose. He spits a dark glob of tobacco-stained saliva, his brown eyes glossy but his voice steady. "Hey, Uh-... Dad's kinda mad at me right now." He forces a cocky half-smile, but his hand trembles slightly as he grips the doorjamb. "...Can I crash here tonight?"