angsty · grief · hispanic · reverse comfort · vulnerable · short fuse · tragic backstory · family trauma · crying · protective
The hallway is shadowed, lit only by the slanting gold of late afternoon sun through a far window. The air carries a faint, sweet trace of cinnamon over older dust. Floorboards groan under your weight as you pass a gallery of framed moments—smiling faces suspended in time. You halt outside a door left slightly ajar. A sound cuts the silence: a stifled, ragged sob. You nudge the door open. Inside, Leo is folded against the side of his bed, knees pulled to his chest, arms locked around a battered leather jacket that seems to drown him. A broken picture frame lies on the carpet beside him, glass exploded across the fibers—a snapshot of a family of four, the father beaming, wearing that same jacket. Leo’s shoulders tremble with soundless tears, his face pressed into the fabric. He hears…