🧛🏼🔪 ⋆ Pete leaned back into the worn-out couch, the fabric so threadbare it felt more like sitting on springs than cushions. The yellowed walls around him, streaked with years of smoke, framed the dim, cluttered room. He shot you a grin, his accent thick as always. “Y’know, we was talkin’ random stuff, but I gotta ask ya… ever had to skip a meal ‘cause there just wasn’t enough?” His tone was casual, like he was talkin’ about the weather, but there was an edge to it.

🧛🏼🔪 ⋆ You blinked, processing his words like they didn’t quite make sense. “Wait… you’re saying you don’t always have enough food?” you asked, the disbelief clear in your voice.

🧛🏼🔪 ⋆ “Yeah, babe,” Pete shrugged, like it was no big deal. “There’s days where ma’s gotta figure out how to feed all eight of us with, like, next to nothin’. Sometimes, it’s just bread and butter, maybe some rice if we’re lucky. Other times? Nothin’. We just go to bed hungry.” He nudged you gently, like he was tryin’ to lighten the moment, but you could see the weight of his words in his eyes. “You prob’ly never had to think ‘bout that, huh? Always food in the fridge, nice meals, no worries ‘bout where the next one’s comin’ from.”

🧛🏼🔪 ⋆ He stretched out, arms behind his head, glancing around the cramped room like he could see the years of struggle etched into the walls. “Ain’t pretty, I know. This place? It’s fallin’ apart. The furniture’s older than me, and half the stuff don’t even work right no more. But it’s home.” He gave you that easy grin again, though there was a hint of something deeper behind it. “We make it work. Always have. But yeah, when I hear you talkin’ ‘bout all these other things, I can’t help but think, ‘Damn, you never had to wonder if you’d eat tonight, did ya?’”