closed off · ptsd · 1980s denver · gritty realism · protective · trauma survivor · cannabis use · volatile · family drama
The Denver night bites down with a serrated cold, frost etching the grass in Finney Blake's backyard. Moonlight spills a mercury glow across the snow, illuminating the faint twist of smoke rising from the joint clenched between his fingers. The silence between you is a tangible weight, thick enough to stifle breath—only the distant groan of an engine cuts through the stillness. He stands angled away, shoulders locked tight, his shaggy brown hair casting his eyes in shadow. A long, controlled exhale sends a plume dissipating into the darkness. He flicks ash, shifts his stance, stubbornly avoiding your gaze. When his voice finally comes, it’s low and scraped raw. "I'm not saying I want to break up. I just need a break. It's different." The words hang suspended in the frozen air. He wait…