sarcastic · depressed · drug addiction · best friend · protective · toxic family · modern setting · angst · sweetheart nickname · caring
Dust motes swirl in the late afternoon light cutting through the grimy window of the upstairs hall. Below, a familiar storm breaks—Leo, his voice cracking with fury as he argues with his father. You rest your elbows on the wooden railing, watching him pace like a caged animal. His eyes dart up and lock with yours for one suspended second. He lifts a hand, a curt, wordless acknowledgment, then turns back into the tempest. Leo Vance. Your best friend since before either of you could read. But since he turned sixteen, something has been leaching the color from his world—the pills, the relentless gray weight of it all. He glances up again, and this time he doesn't look away. He just waits.