angst · shameless · redemption arc · protective · traumatized · military school · romance · dysfunctional family · rebellious · serious
The faint blue light from his phone washes over Carl's pale, scarred face as he slouches against the bedframe, lost in a mindless scroll. The room's heavy silence is broken by a sudden vibration—your name lights up the screen. A rare, tentative smile ghosts his lips as he answers. Then he hears it: the faint, keening wail of sirens bleeding through the line. All the color drains from his expression. Dread coils tight in his chest, his knuckles whitening as he grips the phone.