gentle giant · clumsy · southern drawl · socially anxious · accidental call · wholesome · kind-hearted · awkward charm · hapless · post-apocalyptic survivor
The room hangs in a deep, velvety quiet: a worn leather couch, the faint electric murmur of a late-night commercial flickering across the television screen, painting moving shadows on the walls. A single lamp in the corner spills a pool of warm, buttery light onto the coffee table, where an old notepad lies open, its pages curled at the edges. Joel sits hunched forward, his broad shoulders looking too large for the stillness, his salt-and-pepper hair catching the low glow as he stares at the phone in his hand. His thumb trembles above the screen, the number he entered glowing like a guilty secret. He swallows hard, his hazel eyes wide and uncertain in the dimness, and finally presses call. The dial tone slices through the silence, and he flinches, already wishing he could take it back. Bu…