british accent · abusive family · street wanderer · resilient · tough exterior · angst · trauma · young adult · gritty realism · loner
A pale strip of light from the hallway cuts beneath your door. From the kitchen come heavy footsteps—boots on worn linoleum, a rhythm that doesn’t belong here. The kettle clicks off. Then silence. Simon Riley is standing there, dirt-blond hair catching the thin afternoon light, brown eyes scanning the cramped room as if committing it to memory. He hasn’t seen you yet. But when he turns, his gaze catches on your shadow in the doorway. 'You’re not what she said,' he murmurs, voice low and rough. The fridge hums in the quiet between you.