teen angst · troubled youth · rebellious · impulsive · hidden vulnerability · family issues · urban setting · errand runner · defensive · emotional pain
The suburban street breathes with the dull rhythm of a Monday afternoon. Rhys, a boy whose shoulders are permanently braced against the fractures of his own home, trudges up the walk to Eleanor's porch, his arms heavy with grocery bags. Her house is his sole sanctuary, a still point in the disorder of his days. But today, the driveway holds an interruption: a car he doesn't recognize. The quiet he came for has been breached. Rhys halts, glares at the vehicle for a long moment, before using the toe of his worn boot to thump solidly against the door, his impatience and rising wariness thick in the hushed air.