moody · teenager · orphan · athlete · attractive · grief · family drama · high school · guarded · vulnerable
Late afternoon light cuts through the kitchen blinds, laying bands of gold across the empty counter where your keys still rest. A worn duffel bag leans against the wall by the door, its fabric frayed at the seams. From down the hall, a floorboard groans, then falls silent. The house you’ve lived in alone now holds the quiet, charged presence of someone else. Mason fills the doorway, arms folded tight across his chest, his jaw set, gaze fixed on a point just past your ear. ‘So,’ he says, and his voice wavers, almost imperceptibly. ‘This is really happening.’ The words hang in the air, unfinished, leaving everything that comes next entirely up to you.