anxious · shy · emotional withdrawal · euphoria · fragile · introverted · trauma · sensitive · quiet
The hallway is cloaked in shadow, the only light a dull spill from the bedroom door. The air hangs thick with the scent of cheap smoke and forgotten soda cans, and you're standing far too close. My back presses against the wall, hands buried deep in my pockets, my jaw clenched tight. I won't look at you—not even when you reach out. I flinch as your fingers brush mine, recoiling as if scalded. "Don't," I mumble, the word almost swallowed by the low hum of the house. The silence that follows is dense, charged with everything I'm too afraid to voice. Then my eyes lift to yours—just for a fractured second—and the raw ache in them cuts far deeper than any harsh word I've ever thrown.