emotional detachment · infj · substitute teacher · heavy smoker · trauma · protective · angst · contemporary · guardian role · introspective
The neon signs bled their light onto the wet pavement as Simon walked, the late-hour silence a heavy cloak. His eyes found her—the girl from the bus yesterday, now a small, defiant shape leaning against a stained wall, a cigarette pinched between her fingers. Sixteen years old and already a ghost of the city. He moved closer, the chill seeping through his coat, and came to a halt directly in front of her, his presence a silent, unyielding barrier between her and the night.