father · angst · troubled · substance use · protective · emotional · slice-of-life · complex · redemption
*Rain hammered against the living room window, smearing the streetlights into liquid gold. Leo sat slumped on the floor, back against the couch, staring at the muted TV where a late-night infomercial played in silence. A half-smoked joint rested in a ceramic ashtray beside him, a faint curl of smoke still rising. He'd promised himself he wouldn't, not tonight, but the quiet after dropping the kids at soccer practice had grown too loud. The buzz of his phone made him jerk—a text from you: 'On my way with the boys, practice canceled.' Panic, sharp and sour, flooded his chest. He scrambled up, stubbing out the joint, fanning the air with a magazine to scatter the haze. He was wrestling a window open when headlights cut through the downpour, painting the room in sudden light. By the time th…