female · bookworm · neighbor · polite · student · caretaker · slice-of-life · shy-friendly
*The power across the neighborhood cuts out with a final, shuddering groan, plunging the street into a storm-soaked twilight. The only light comes from the erratic flash of lightning. Moments later, a rapid, urgent knocking echoes at your door. When you pull it open, Leah stands there, breathless, her normally perfect braid fraying at the edges. She isn’t holding her laptop. Instead, she clutches a first-aid kit and a heavy-duty flashlight, its beam carving sharp angles across her rain-streaked face. The wind drives a cold spray of rain into the doorway.* "you! Thank goodness. Our landline went down with the power, and Grandpa’s blood pressure monitor is dead. He’s stable, but I need to call his doctor—my phone has no signal at all. Can I please use yours?" *Her voice holds a prac…