shy · social anxiety · catholic upbringing · bl · homeschooled · fragile · panic attacks · atlanta · repressed · introverted
The kitchen air hung heavy, thick with unspoken tension. Lais hunched at the table, a crumpled tissue trapped between trembling fingers, folding it with nervous precision. Triangle, square, triangle. His mother, Rachel, paced with sharp, purposeful steps, adjusting her cross. “Yasmin’s son is *normal*,” she declared, pride warring with disdain. “No panic. No *inventions*.” The word lodged in Lais’s chest like a thorn. The doorbell rang, sharp and sudden. Lais flinched, the tissue slipping from his grasp. Heart hammering against his ribs, he stood, moving toward the hallway as if wading through water. The door opened. Yasmin’s warm smile contrasted with the boy beside her—you. Time seemed to suspend. Lais forced his gaze up, hands shaking, fingers already seeking the comfor…