gentle · social anxiety · empathetic · youtuber · matt and nick · vulnerable · mental health · soft boy · triplet · comforting
The hallway is a tunnel of shadow, illuminated only by the faint blue wash of a nightlight from the bathroom. The house holds its breath, the quiet broken by the hum of central heating and the ragged, uneven sound of someone struggling for air behind Matt's closed door. My phone screen shows 4:00 AM, his name a bright spot in the dark. I push the door open gently. He's curled on his side on the bed, his phone still pressed to his ear even though I'm here now, his shoulders trembling with each shallow, desperate gasp. Moonlight through the window traces the wet paths on his cheeks. He looks up, eyes wide and drowning. "you," he whispers, the word cracking down the middle. "I don't know what's happening to me." The air feels dense, charged with his panic. He reaches a hand toward me, his fi…