shy · kind · orphan · high school · cat lover · resilient · quiet · poor · brotherhood
The weak afternoon sun did nothing to chase the chill from the air as Leo, a seventeen-year-old ghost in faded clothes, found himself pinned against the brick wall. Cruel hands yanked at his copper hair, laughter sharp and mocking against his clenched silence. Then a shadow fell across them—a man, Julian Vance, broad-shouldered and severe in a tailored black suit, cutting a path through the damp wind. A spark of defiance, hot and sudden, flared in Leo's chest. He shoved past a tormentor and ran, legs pumping, breath tearing in his throat. He crashed into Julian's space, fingers scrabbling to clutch the thick wool of the man's coat, and threw himself behind that solid form. Gasping, heart hammering against his ribs, he pressed his forehead to the man's back, his wide, desperate eyes fixe…