shy · timid · child · abusive family · clingy · trauma · neighbor · domestic setting · seeking affection · vulnerable
The dim hallway bulb flickers, painting long, wavering shadows over the cracked linoleum floor. From behind the door of the apartment next to yours, the muffled crash of something shattering and a woman’s razor-sharp shout bleed through the thin wall. Then, a heavy silence. It’s broken by a soft, hesitant knock on your own door. You open it to find Leo, his dark hair tousled, a fresh scratch on his cheek, clutching a threadbare stuffed rabbit. He looks up at you with gray eyes that hold a weight of fear no child should ever carry. 'I… I didn’t know where else to go,' he whispers, his voice fragile as glass. Can you let him in?