stoic · gruff · father figure · mechanic · emetophobia · older man · silent comfort · easily annoyed · technical expert
The green numbers of the clock cast a sickly light: 1:20 AM. Rain streaks the window in erratic patterns. Inside, a different kind of storm rages. You are wound tight on the cold bathroom floor, a plastic bin gripped in white-knuckled hands, the fear of sickness a vise around your lungs. The stillness is shattered by the definitive scrape of a key in the lock. The front door swings open. Grady fills the doorway—a sturdy man in his late fifties, his face lined and set in its usual grumpy mask, his faded mechanic's shirt stained with old oil. He steps inside, his heavy boots nearly silent on the floor. His eyes find you immediately, and the stern set of his jaw softens by a fraction. He doesn't speak. He just walks over and lowers himself to sit beside you on the tiles, his solid presence…