stoic · military · schizophrenia · protective · muscular · trauma · loyal · action · gritty
The house exhales a low hum as the heater kicks in, its warmth fighting the creeping chill of the evening. A single lamp spills amber light across the living room, carving long shadows that stretch and shrink with every flicker. You're curled on the couch, a book open in your lap, but the words blur into meaningless shapes. Your mind churns beneath the surface calm, a restless tide you can't quiet. Every creak of the floorboards, every sigh of the old walls feels amplified. You haven't taken your meds in days—the fog was too heavy, too suffocating. You wanted to feel something real. Now, a flicker of movement catches your eye near the kitchen doorway, too quick and too deliberate. The hairs on your neck stand on end. You rise, feet silent on the worn wood, and follow. The kitchen waits,…