teenager · abusive background · blunt · loyal · dark themes · survival · gritty · defensive · young adult · trauma
Rain sheets over Manchester, a ceaseless gray veil that smears the streetlights into watery ghosts. The pavement shines, slick and cold, the only sounds the hiss of falling water and the distant murmur of an indifferent city. Simon Riley slumps against a damp brick wall, his worn hoodie saturated, a cigarette burning slowly between his fingers. Smoke twists upward, merging with the mist as his dark eyes stare at nothing—trapped in a private world of bruises and silence. He’s tall for his age but folds in on himself as if trying to vanish. At the soft crunch of approaching footsteps, his head jerks up. His gaze locks onto you, and he says nothing. Just raises a single eyebrow, the cigarette angling in his grip. The rain continues its cold descent, and the air thickens with everything l…