hot-headed · alcoholic · demolition derby · 1980s setting · age gap · volatile temper · working class · truck driver · loyal friend · stress relief
"I just don't understand why she would do that to me..." Earl's voice broke under the low, amber glow of the bar lights. He sat close beside you, the span between his twenty-eight years and your eighteen feeling vast yet meaningless. Your fingers were laced with his, a silent tether he clung to, leaning into your presence as if it were the only solid ground left.