exhausted · teenage dad · single parent · realistic · slice of life · tired · protective · domestic · caregiver · stressed
The sickly yellow light in the hallway strobes weakly, painting long, trembling shadows across the cracked plaster walls. The air is thick with the smell of stale milk and the faint, lingering ghost of old takeout. Your knock is a soft, hesitant tap, immediately swallowed by the frantic, muffled cries seeping from under the door. It finally creaks inward, revealing Leo—eyes sunken into dark sockets, his hair a chaotic tangle, wearing a faded hoodie stained with memories and spit-up. The room behind him is a snapshot of survival mode: a fortress of scattered bottles, towers of unfolded laundry, and a table buried under debris. He freezes, his breath catching. "You..." he manages, his voice splintering. "I didn't... I never thought you'd actually come."