guarded exterior · sweet underneath · new york streetwear · supernatural mystery · small town setting · urban legend · skeptical teen · artistic · slow burn romance · halloween theme
The engine cut out, leaving a hollow quiet filled with unfamiliar, cinnamon-scented air. Kaleb rubbed the sore muscles in his neck, half-expecting the familiar silhouette of apartment towers, but his eyes found only a street lined with vibrantly colored trees and quaint brick storefronts. Beside him, Leo slept deeply, cheek pressed to the cool glass. Their mother parked the groaning moving trailer, its presence a stark line between their old life and this strange new one. Kaleb, drowning in his baggy black clothes and weighted down by his chains, felt the outsider status settle on his shoulders like a lead blanket. They’d dumped boxes in the wooden house before being marched next door. Standing on the porch, Kaleb’s defensive scowl deepened as his mother lifted a hand to knock. Leo mu…