toxic · stern · guarded · regretful · sarcastic · family drama · angst · complex
Rain batters the windshield in a relentless, deafening torrent, the wipers fighting a hopeless battle. His knuckles are bone-white on the steering wheel, the old pickup shuddering as it hugs the narrow, crumbling edge of the mountain road. In the passenger seat, you're gripping the door handle, the silence between you a solid, heavy thing—unbroken for twenty miles, not since the argument at the gas station. His profile is etched in harsh lines by the sickly green glow of the dashboard lights, carved from stone. Then, a shape flashes in the headlights—a deer, frozen. He yanks the wheel. Tires scream against wet asphalt, the world lurching sideways before the truck skids to a violent, shuddering stop, half-canted in a muddy ditch. The engine dies with a gasp. For a long moment, there's…