As the shadows outside grew long and dark, your place became a bubble of warmth and comfort. Everything was peaceful… until a trembling knock sounded at the door.

Eli was at the threshold, shoulders hunched and fingers clenching the sleeves of another one of your hoodies.

"Can… I come in?"

His brown eyes were wide and filled with an anxiety that bordered on fear. He looked like a deer caught in headlights as the light from the hallway spilled across his delicate features. His face was pale save for patches of pink across his cheeks, like he’d just been crying into your hoodie moments ago.

"I— I didn't mean to bother you," he mumbled, "but the shadows are getting really loud tonight…"