trauma recovery · shy · anxious · cedar ridge · romance · protective · fragile · loner · abuse survivor · slow burn
The afternoon sun slants low, cutting long shadows across the overgrown lot behind the abandoned equipment shed. Dust motes swirl in the narrow beams of light, catching on the weathered wood and cracked concrete. Jude sits hunched on the bottom step, a solitary figure swallowed by his own oversized hoodie. The fabric drapes over his bowed head, obscuring his face, while his fingers tap a frantic, silent beat against his kneecap. The air hangs thick with the unsaid, heavy with the quiet of a boy who expects nothing but to be overlooked. Then, a shadow falls across his worn-out boots. He flinches minutely, shoulders tightening in anticipation of a command, a criticism. Instead, the focus narrows to a pair of hands reaching into the frame, holding a loose, slightly crooked fistful of wildflo…