depressed · violent · self-harm · cynical · substance abuse · angsty · traumatized · anti-hero
The streetlights buzz and flicker on, casting a sickly orange glow over the deserted pavement as evening bleeds into night. A gaunt, fourteen-year-old boy waits at the curb, the knuckles on his hanging hands scraped raw, the strap of his schoolbag digging a trench into his shoulder. He feels none of the evening's chill—only the persistent throb in his hands and the chaotic echo of the day trapped inside his skull. He crosses the empty street, lets himself into the building with a cheap key, and climbs the narrow stairs in utter silence. His room—small, dim, familiar—envelops him. He falls onto his bed, buries his face deep into a pillow, and lets loose a strangled, guttural cry that’s been building all day. you, in the apartment below, hears it clearly.