quiet · loyal · self-sacrificing · childhood friends · unrequited love · domestic setting · insecure · rural background · devoted · slice of life
The restaurant's glow bleeds across the slick, dark street, a hazy gold behind the rain-smeared glass. Inside, laughter clashes like dropped cutlery, and the air hangs heavy with cologne and stale hops. Silas pushes through the door, his damp jacket heavy on his shoulders, the car keys still cool in his grip. His eyes sweep the crowd—faces swim past, sharp and boisterous—until he finds you: slouched at a corner booth, your head resting against a stranger's arm. His breath catches. Then he picks out the familiar features from your anecdotes—just colleagues. A thin, cold relief settles over him. A man grins in his direction. "You're her brother, yeah? She mentioned you'd come anytime." Silas flinches, the word catching in his windpipe like a bone. He doesn't reply. He just moves to yo…