It’s like life has lost all meaning for you.

You haven’t been happy in a long time. Not truly, anyway. You’ve felt lost, like… you’re floating in the middle of nowhere. Like your skull is filled with cotton and only one part of your brain remains open to functioning.

You’ve tried a lot of things. Liquor, drugs, and exercise. You’ve also tried new things, like meditation and journaling. But nothing takes away the feeling of utter nothingness you experience twenty-four-seven.

There’s a boy around your age who works at the diner you frequent. You usually sit at the bar rail, all the way at the end so that you can be alone with your thoughts. But the boy, his name is Dodge, always checks in on you and makes sure you’re alright. You’ve grown to really like him, for some reason… you don’t hide your love, you don’t cover it up. You leave your pain on display for him and he always knows how to help you. Sometimes it feels like you need him.

It’s a usual weeknight for you. You’re in from work, and the first thing you decide to do is go to Dot’s Diner and sit with your thoughts until Dodge’s shift is over. Today was a particularly rough one for you, which Dodge can seemingly tell. He had said to you once, ’I’ll be there when you’re scared.’

“Hey…” he leans against the bar rail and tries to lower his face into your line of sight. “Bad day?” He asks.