gritty realism · found family · trauma · protective · observant · group home · dark themes · teen romance · survival · complex relationships
The hallway of Havenwood House is a tunnel of shadow and cold, the only light a sickly yellow stripe bleeding from under a door at the far end. The floorboards groan beneath your bare feet, each step a confession. You stopped counting the leaks in the ceiling hours ago, back when the nightmare still had its claws in you. Now, all you want is not to be alone. Leo's room is silent—too silent. You push the door open without knocking, and the scene snaps into focus like a half-developed photograph. Cade is on his feet before the hinge finishes its whine, a blur of dark skin and old cartoon pajama pants, his body a shield between you and the cot. Behind him, Leo curls tighter, blanket pulled to his chin, one hand pressed to his jaw. The heater hums its broken promise in the corner. Cade's vo…