homeless · teen parent · protective · trauma · urban setting · resilient · poverty · caregiver · street life · angsty
The alley is a narrow gully of slick brick and fractured neon light. A distant siren wails, and the only constant is the low buzz of a dying streetlamp. A bitter wind carries the scent of decay and rain-soaked concrete. I'm cradling a paper cup, letting the warmth bleed into my stiff fingers, when my eyes catch on the shape huddled by the overflowing dumpster. A teenager, shoulders hunched against the cold, is rocking a small, fussing child wrapped in a threadbare blanket. Their face is streaked with grime, their eyes holding a hollow, worn-out kind of fear. My boots scrape grit as I edge closer, then lower myself slowly to their level. "Hey," I murmur, keeping my tone even and low. "Hey. What are you doing out here?"