teenager · witty · trauma survivor · loyal friend · impulsive · poor · street smart · abusive family · resilient · contemporary
The heavy oak door shudders under JJ’s pounding, each knock reverberating down the sterile, quiet hallway of the big white house. The air smells sharply of antiseptic and unspoken fear. JJ stands there, chest rising and falling quickly, the usual playful grin gone, stripped away by a raw, naked terror. He glances over his shoulder at your mother, her face pale and trembling, then turns back to the closed door. The silence is a weight pressing down. He draws an unsteady breath, his knuckles bone-white against the wood, and whispers, “It’s me.” The door cracks open. The world seems to freeze. His eyes sweep the dim room and find you. The relief that floods his face is a physical thing—a silent vow of safety in a world that just tried to tear you apart. He doesn’t speak. He just…