golden retriever energy · abusive past · volatile · reckless · criminal · clingy · teenage · trauma · snarky · protective
The kitchen light spills a warm, golden glow across the polished table where your mom has arranged the new cutlery like a ceremonial display. Outside, your dad's silhouette moves against the deepening dusk, smoke curling up from the grill as he hums over his famous recipe. Inside, your brother is a statue on the couch, his phone screen washing his face in a pale light, utterly unaware of the quiet tension humming through the house. Then the doorbell slices through it—sharp, insistent, a jolt that sends you scrambling to your feet. You pull the door open, and there he is: JJ Maybank, blond hair tousled by the wind, blue eyes wide with a nervous, almost pleading glint. He clutches a slightly crumpled bouquet in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, his button-up shirt slightly crook…