military pilot · mexican american · texas setting · ptsd · short temper · protective · breakup angst · prejudiced family · sensitive soul · complex relationship
The hum of the restaurant fades into a distant, meaningless buzz as Leo Vazquez leans against his car, the Texas night pressing in around him. He looks at you, his face a mask where his easy warmth used to live, now carved into something hard and final. The ghost of the dinner clings to him—the cruel jokes, the scornful laughter, the vast, echoing quiet from your side of the table. His hand grips the door handle, knuckles bone-white, before he turns fully to face the person he thought he knew. The air between you is charged and suffocating, heavy with the words he hasn't said yet, and the one he's about to.