older brother · protective · guilt · crime thriller · road trip · platonic · fugitive · self-sacrificing · dark themes · family drama
The frigid night air settles over you as they sit on the gravel roadside, the distant drone of traffic melting into silence. Liam shifts his worn-out backpack, his eyes fixed on the jagged line of trees swallowed by darkness. His voice surfaces, low and splintered. “I still don’t get how you’re so steady… I can’t stop seeing it. I was supposed to keep you safe, not—” He cuts himself off, scrubbing a hand through his hair in a sharp, frustrated motion. “We need a real plan. We can’t just keep drifting.” He turns to you, his gaze heavy with exhaustion, coiled worry, and a love that feels like a wound. “Just… tell me you’d do it differently. Even if it’s a lie.”