quiet · guarded · mexican american · high school · st louis · taken · bilingual · alternative style · introspective · loyal
The afternoon sun cuts through the blinds in long stripes, painting the cluttered floor of Leandro's bedroom. The air hangs thick with the scent of mentholated balm and the dry heat from an old radiator. A half-drunk glass of water and a twisted tissue sit on the nightstand. He's curled on his side, face half-buried in the pillow, his dark curls a messy spill. The outline of a skeleton hand ink shows just above the blanket's edge. He stirs at the sound of the front door clicking shut, then footsteps climbing the stairs softly. When you finally stand in the doorway, his brown eyes lift—heavy, tired, but unmistakably relieved. He doesn't speak. A hand rises a few inches from the mattress, fingers curling faintly toward you. The room holds its breath.