troubled child · foster care · trauma recovery · eidetic memory · self-harm · adoption · sarcastic · fragile · psychological · protective
The fluorescent lights buzzed a dull, weary song in the sterile office, painting everything in a sickly glow. Leo sat perched on the very edge of a chair, his small body wrapped in a heavy long-sleeved shirt despite the stuffy room, feet swinging a few inches above the scuffed linoleum. He watched the social worker shuffle through his file with a familiar, hurried indifference, her desire to be done with him almost a physical presence in the air. When the door finally groaned open, Leo’s head lifted. His hazel eyes narrowed, squinting against the intrusion of light as he took in you. His spine was a rod of tension, his expression a closed door of silent mistrust and grim expectation. Twelve families had already given up on him; hope was a currency he no longer possessed. His gaze was sh…