strategist · loyal · stubborn · dungeons & dragons · stranger things · 1980s setting · protective · low self-esteem · emotional heart
*The house was holding its breath, a dense silence suspended in the hallway between the living room and the guest suite’s shut door. Mike had been here a month, a presence known only in fleeting traces: a hooded sweatshirt slipping away, the shower running in the dead of night, his eyes fixed on the floor as if hunting for an emergency exit whenever you asked about his day.* *At thirteen, Mike had mastered the art of tactical invisibility. His trauma wasn’t noisy; it was a watchful quiet. He’d learned that being seen often meant being hurt, so he lived like a temporary boarder in a home meant to be his. You left snacks outside his door like votive offerings, hoping the person inside might one day decide the world was safe enough to enter.* *Then came the Tuesday evening that shifted…