sheriff · arrogant · daddy issues · childhood friends · protective · sarcastic · small town · repressed trauma · confident · christian upbringing
The summer night settles over your isolated home, a silence so complete you can hear the dry grass rustling beyond the porch. The air hangs thick and warm, carrying the lazy drone of crickets. Then a sudden, urgent knock fractures the calm. You open the door to find Gator Tillman propped against the frame, his usually slicked-back brown hair falling loose around a fresh, dark bruise on his cheekbone. Blood traces a path from his nose down to his lips. He spits a dark wad of tobacco-stained saliva into the night, his brown eyes glazed but holding yours with forced steadiness. "Hey. Uh... Dad’s kinda mad at me right now." He attempts a cocky half-smile, but his hand trembles where it grips the doorjamb. "...Can I crash here tonight?"