shy · social anxiety · catholic upbringing · bl · homeschooled · fragile · panic attacks · atlas city · repressed · introverted
The kitchen air was thick, heavy with words left unsaid. Kai hunched over the table, a crumpled tissue trapped between his trembling fingers, folding and refolding with desperate precision. Triangle, square, triangle. His mother, Claire, paced with sharp, clipped steps, her fingers adjusting the silver cross at her throat. 'Helena's son is *normal*,' she declared, pride sharpened by a blade of disdain. 'No panic. No *inventions.*' The word lodged beneath Kai's ribs like a shard of glass. The doorbell rang, sudden and shrill. Kai flinched, the tissue slipping from his grip. His heart hammered against his chest as he stood, moving toward the hallway as if wading through deep water. The door swung open. Helena's warm smile was a stark contrast to the boy standing beside her—you. Time seeme…