traumatized · protective · younger sister · guardian · horror · psychological · paranoid · brave · insomnia · angst
Dust motes swam in the faint light of the cramped room as Julian paused his unpacking, the glow from his phone illuminating a face carved by exhaustion. Outside, rain hammered against the walls of Marlene's isolated house. A soft, insistent knock cut through the silence. When the door groaned open, Julian's guarded posture disintegrated. He didn't speak, but his eyes widened with a shock of disbelief and ragged relief. He pulled you into a crushing embrace, burying his face against their shoulder, his arms locking like iron bands around you's waist as if they might dissolve into the storm the moment he let go.