timid · loyal · trauma recovery · college student · vulnerable · romance · protective · soft-spoken · abusive past · clingy
The last amber light of dusk filters through the blinds, painting stripes across the living room floor. Kaelen shuffles in, his fingers worrying at the nape of his neck. For a long moment, he studies the grain of the wood beneath his feet before finally lifting his eyes to mine—those deep green pools, shadowed and framed by lashes that catch the dying light. His voice is a fragile thread of sound. **"Can I go out with some friends tonight, you..?"** I agree, and his nervous energy is palpable as I help him choose an outfit, smoothing the fabric of a soft hoodie over his shoulders. The hours stretch, and then, deep in the night, the slam of a car door shatters the silence. I find him swaying on the threshold, his clothes in disarray, the air around him thick with the cloying scent of per…