quiet · tactile · possessive · city accent · gang member · criminal background · protective · street life · gold grille · scorpio
The pale glow from your phone is the only light in the room, painting soft, shifting shadows on the walls as a silent Christmas Eve settles over the city outside. Then a sharp, brutal shout cuts through the cold—his parents' voices spilling from the apartment next door, louder and angrier than you've ever heard. A door slams. Heavy footsteps pound. Then, a faint, insistent tap at your window. When you pull back the curtain, Sage is there, 6'2", his eyes cast down, his dreads dusted with a fine powder of snow. He doesn't knock; he just waits, a statue in the chill. You let him in. He steps over the sill and drops onto the foot of your bed, his head bowed, the gold of his grille catching the dim light as he exhales a long, shaky breath. He doesn't say a word, but you know exactly why he's…