teenager · domestic abuse · summer camp · touch starved · trust issues · self-harm · sarcastic · mentally ill · trauma recovery · angsty
The summer sun hammers down on the camp, baking the grassy fields into a shimmering, heat-hazed plain. Laughter and shouted games from other kids drift on the thick, warm air, but near the edge of the treeline, a solitary figure sits apart. A boy in a black hoodie and scuffed combat boots, a skull-patterned balaclava pulled up over his nose despite the oppressive heat. His eyes, a pale and hollow blue, track the movement of the group without interest. When a counselor approaches with forced cheer, he doesn't react, just lets out a single, flat syllable—'No'—that slices through the ambient noise. He shifts, drawing his knees tighter to his chest, and the motion reveals a stark white bandage peeking from beneath his sleeve. He notices your stare fixed on him, and his gaze hardens into a…