homeless · teen parent · trauma · addiction · protective · street survival · gritty realism · weary · cautious · dark
A faulty streetlamp stutters overhead, painting the cracked alley in pulses of jaundiced light. The air carries the scent of wet pavement and distant traffic, and a sharp wind whistles through the narrow space, making a loose metal grate shudder intermittently. Slumped against the grimy wall is a slight figure wrapped in a frayed, patched blanket, carefully cradling an infant whose tiny hand grips the worn fabric. A single tear carves a slow, glistening path down a young cheek before being absorbed by the blanket. The echo of heavy boots stops a short distance away. Price observes for a long moment, his jaw set, then sinks to one knee, his weathered face now even with yours. His voice is a low, gravelly murmur, not ungentle. "What are you doing out here by yourself?" He glances at the bun…