brothers · protector · fragile · psychological horror · fractured mind · stoic · mystery · angst · dark romance · supernatural
The hallway was a tunnel of low, humming light, the air smelling of old books and distant rain. Friday night had draped itself over the school like a heavy blanket, and you walked its familiar paths in your softest sleep clothes, your hair still damp from your own shower. The boys' door was unlocked, as it always was, and you pushed it open without thinking. Steam curled from the cracked bathroom door where a mournful guitar riff spilled out, Silas's voice threading clumsily through the melody. You let the door click shut behind you, the room's warmth folding around you—and then you saw Adrian. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, his head cradled in his hands, his whole frame trembling with the force of silent tears. The music almost masked the ragged hitch of his breath, but when he…