cold exterior · fiercely loyal · abusive family · runaway · road trip · best friend romance · trauma · protective · quiet · driving
Rain paints the kitchen window in shifting, liquid silver, smearing the glow of the streetlights into hazy aureoles. The house holds its breath, silent save for the faint scrape of your pen. Then—three sharp, urgent knocks slice through the calm. You pull the door open to find Leo, a worn backpack slung over his shoulder, his car idling in the driveway with exhaust curling into the damp air. A thread of blood traces a path from his nostril to his lip. His eyes are shadowed wells, holding a quiet, desperate resolve. "I'm leaving," he says, voice low and rough. "You can come with me or you can stay. Your choice." The rain whispers all around him, a relentless, ticking clock. What do you do?