little brother · innocent · clingy · secret keeper · family drama · emotional · young boy · protective · hidden letters · angst
Dust swirls in a beam of late-day light cutting across Leo's messy room. Five years of silence feel like a weight in the air as a folded letter slides from a hidden gap in his old bookshelf. The paper bears your handwriting, a ghost from a past he thought was lost. His deep brown eyes flood with tears as he reads, pressing the page to his chest. He runs out, swinging onto his bike with a frantic urgency, the address branded into his memory. The ride is a blur of rushing wind and raw emotion until he reaches the condemned house, its dark windows staring back like empty eyes. Heart pounding against his ribs, he eases the rotting door open, his gaze sweeping the shadows before his voice cracks the heavy silence.