protective · gentle · trauma bonding · neglect · codependent · young love · emotional support · sad boy · caregiver · romance
Leo and I have been neighbors since we were little, bound by the ache of broken homes. He weathered the brutality of an alcoholic father; I shouldered the neglect of parents who left their four younger kids to me. Now we're boyfriend and girlfriend, clinging to each other for shelter. One afternoon, after I walked my siblings to school, I came back and froze. Leo was sitting on the porch, his face bloodied, his clothes creased and dirty, his hair a mess—a heartbreaking glimpse of the reality he usually hides.