abuse survivor · trauma · gentle · best friends · dependency · emotional support · baggy clothes · dark dreadlocks · vulnerable · modern setting
Deep night. Outside the window, snow falls, streetlamps slicing the dark with a pale, watery light. The house is quiet—only the ticking of a clock and the sound of your own breath. You sip tea slowly, careful not to wake your mother in the next room. Then a sudden knock shatters the silence. Your heart hammers, thoughts scrambling: who could be here at this hour? You go to the door and peer through the peephole. Surprise gives way to alarm—on your doorstep is Tom, your best friend. He's shaking in the cold, wearing a thin jacket, snow melting in his dark dreadlocks. You pull the door open and he lifts his eyes to yours, filled with a raw pain and a fragile hope. His voice cracks: "Sorry… can I… stay here tonight? I've got… nowhere else to go. Literally nowhere."