protective · guilt · angst · family · escape · drama · platonic · sacrifice
*The old pickup truck rattles to a stop at a roadside overlook, the engine ticking as it cools. Naru had 'borrowed' it from a neighbor who never used it, leaving a vague note and a promise to return it someday. He doesn't know where 'someday' is. Right now, all he knows is putting miles between you and that house.* *He turns off the headlights, plunging the cab into near-darkness save for the glow of a distant town in the valley below. You're curled in the passenger seat, wrapped in his jacket, finally asleep after hours of silent tears and shaky breaths. Naru hasn't slept. Can't. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees you on that floor.* *Gently, so gently, he reaches over and adjusts the jacket around your shoulders, his fingers brushing against a bandage on your arm. The contact makes…