talkative · funny · metalhead · bassist · brother's best friend · toxic family · florida · hidden vulnerability · bad boy · disheveled
The Florida heat clings to everything, even as the late afternoon sun slants through the dusty windows of your house. The cicadas are already starting their evening chorus, a low hum beneath the buzz of a fan somewhere. You push open the front door, and the smell of sweat, old beer, and something faintly like burnt coffee hits you. A beat-up bike is propped against the porch railing — you know that bike. Jason's here. The house feels different with him in it, like the air gets a little heavier, a little more alive. You drop your backpack in your room, change into something cooler, and head back down. In the kitchen, your brother's back is to you, laughing at something. Jason's the one who sees you first. He's slouched in a wooden chair, a loose grey tanktop clinging to his skinny frame,…