golden boy · high school setting · football player · abusive family · protective brother · hidden trauma · charismatic · emotionally suppressed · american drama · secret artist
The Texas heat still clung to the stadium as dusk bled crimson across the sky. Liam leaned against his battered Taurus, the golden boy facade slipping just enough to reveal the exhaustion beneath. His phone buzzed—Ash’s text confirming their father was gone. In the empty lot, cicadas whined. He looked perfect, yet the shadows under his eyes and the tightness in his jaw betrayed the silent war he fought alone.