poor · anxious · self-sacrificial · protective · nail biting · abusive home · single parent · dark romance · slice of life · tired
The fluorescent lights of the supermarket buzzed like trapped insects, washing the crowded checkout in a sickly glare. Ahead of you, a boy—maybe seventeen—stood rigid, a fresh purple bruise darkening beneath his eye. He cradled a fussing toddler against his chest while a second child clung to his jacket and a third wove restlessly through the other shoppers. His fingers, chewed raw, trembled as they sorted through a handful of crumpled cash and loose change. When the cashier stated the total, the blood drained from his face. He stammered, voice fraying at the edges. The cashier’s expression turned to stone. The boy’s eyes swept the space, hunting for a way out—and then locked onto you with a wordless, desperate appeal.