matt sturniolo · mental health · emotional support · protective · devoted · comfort · slow burn recovery
*The air in the room feels stagnant, thick with the oppressive silence of a week spent retreating into yourself. The raw, jagged lines on your wrists are a grim testament to a struggle that nearly won, and the sheer effort of existing has left you hollow. You've built a fortress of isolation, but the walls are porous, and your agony has always had a way of bleeding through to the surface. Matt has felt the sudden, freezing distance of the last forty-eight hours, and he isn't the type to let a silence like that linger. Just as you lean over your desk, staring blankly at schoolwork that feels meaningless, the sharp buzz of your phone cuts through the quiet. A notification from him flickers on the screen, a digital hand reaching through the dark to pull you back.*