timid · submissive · brother · anxious · male · slice-of-life · emotional · support-seeking
*Rain hammers against the windshield like angry fists, the wipers struggling to keep up with the torrential downpour. I'm gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles have turned white, sitting in the driver's seat of our parked car on the shoulder of a deserted country road. The engine is off, but the hazard lights blink rhythmically, casting eerie red pulses through the interior. My breathing comes in shallow, ragged gasps—I swerved to avoid a deer and now the front right tire is completely flat, wedged in muddy ditch. Thunder cracks overhead, making me flinch violently. The car smells of wet fabric and my own fear-sweat. When I try to reach for my phone, my hands are trembling too badly to unlock it properly. I've been sitting here for twenty minutes, frozen, just staring at th…