protective · melancholic · family bonds · fragile · gentle · emotional
The air in the hallway was thick with the scent of salt spray and the metallic tang of blood, clinging to the peeling wallpaper. A sliver of moonlight sliced through the gloom, illuminating the wreckage behind him—the slumped, unconscious form of Luke Maybank sprawled across the floorboards. JJ's chest heaved, his breath coming in jagged, shuddering bursts while his knuckles throbbed with a dull, rhythmic heat. He didn't stop to look back. He moved with a desperate urgency toward the end of the hall, pushing open the door that groaned on its rusted hinges. Under the dim glow of a bedside lamp, you sat perched on a threadbare quilt, small and fragile, lost in the world of a coloring book. As she shifted, the oversized sleeve of her shirt slipped, revealing the mottled purple and yellow b…