37Please respect copyright.PENANAQCG5jIryOj
37Please respect copyright.PENANA3esRXrVflb
37Please respect copyright.PENANADuiQmrt8Vb
37Please respect copyright.PENANA4iFk87W1jM
When Maddox told me to come to his place for tutoring, I wasn’t sure if I should be scared or curious. His world was streets and shadows, not quiet study sessions. But something about the way he said it made me say yes.
37Please respect copyright.PENANArEl9XmVYBN
His house wasn’t far from the abandoned place I called home. The streets looked the same—cracked sidewalks, flickering streetlights—but Maddox’s place had a different kind of silence. Heavy. Like it held a lifetime of pain.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAUrLrddhDxC
Inside, the air smelled stale, like smoke and forgotten dreams. The couch was torn, dishes piled up, and the walls looked like they hadn’t been painted in years. But it was a place. His place.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAv6kcZHcpmQ
We sat at the kitchen table, and before I could open my book, Maddox’s voice dropped low.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAXGe0eAKeD2
“My mom died when I was a kid,” he said, eyes fixed on the table. “Cancer took her. Just like that.”
37Please respect copyright.PENANAYfSPPj0LFQ
He swallowed hard, then went on.
37Please respect copyright.PENANACCr09vIoj4
“My pops… he’s around sometimes. But half the time, he’s so high he don’t even know who I am. I’m the only kid, so when mom died, I had no one but the streets to turn to.”
37Please respect copyright.PENANAEodsjmQW8L
I could feel the weight of his words settle between us, thick and raw.
37Please respect copyright.PENANA6BEWrSb8wr
“I had to learn quick—how to hustle, how to survive, how not to get lost.”
37Please respect copyright.PENANAcHieysuQVJ
He glanced at me, and for a second, I saw the boy behind the tough exterior—scared, lonely, fighting to stay alive.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAOzA8TZdWVZ
37Please respect copyright.PENANA04yDQACRZc
I wanted to reach out, to tell him I understood. But I just nodded.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAIpPklQQtqx
“Alright, tutor,” he said, cracking a small smile. “Let’s get to work.”
37Please respect copyright.PENANAKgu8UNCNWA
And just like that, the weight lifted a little—because maybe, just maybe, we weren’t alone in this.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAqottDnFGQr
37Please respect copyright.PENANA5c3679JU52
37Please respect copyright.PENANAFmX9N1CZSF
We were finally settling in, the math books spread out between us, the tension easing just a little. I was explaining a tricky problem, feeling the first spark of connection when the door creaked open slowly. I looked up and froze.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAhK2a24Du9r
Maddox’s dad stumbled in—eyes bloodshot, face twisted with rage and something darker. The smell hit me first—cheap booze, cigarettes, and that sharp stench of drugs. My heart slammed against my ribs.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAri485TXlsk
He scanned the room and stopped on me.
37Please respect copyright.PENANArCYNnVb1V0
“Who the hell is this?” His voice was slurred, thick with menace. “You bringing trouble to my boy’s house?”
37Please respect copyright.PENANAB9IXPIALaV
Before Maddox could react, the man lurched toward me, his hand reaching out like a predator’s claw.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAF9ct7EUJf6
I flinched, backing away. “Don’t—”
37Please respect copyright.PENANAna4OwA6BxK
But Maddox exploded.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAS8RO76a66H
“Don’t touch her!” His voice cracked like a whip, raw and wild. He grabbed his dad’s wrist and yanked it away, shoving him hard enough to make him stagger.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAvLdiBRZrjI
The old man sneered, “You think you’re tough, huh? Think you can keep me out? You ain’t shit without me.”
37Please respect copyright.PENANA5BQYmXM934
Maddox’s eyes were fire. “I’m everything you’re not. I’m the reason you’re still breathing tonight.”
37Please respect copyright.PENANArBtKGvuPMC
His dad lunged again, drunk and desperate.
37Please respect copyright.PENANArIjloglW7j
Maddox caught him mid-step, slamming him against the wall. “Back off. One more move and I swear—”
37Please respect copyright.PENANAiwqIdDLdbr
The man spat, “You’re my blood. You owe me.”
37Please respect copyright.PENANARbq4k5NBEL
“No,” Maddox snarled, voice thick with hate. “You’re the reason I had to grow up in the streets. You’re the reason I fight every damn day to be better.”
37Please respect copyright.PENANAY9vKJUTOcf
The old man’s face twisted in pain and anger, his breath ragged.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAx06gp7ZhMX
I sat frozen, heart pounding, watching Maddox turn into a force I never knew existed—fierce, broken, and raw.
37Please respect copyright.PENANAQgPdc6gNpo
When Maddox finally pushed his dad back and slammed the door shut, he collapsed against the wall, hands shaking.
37Please respect copyright.PENANArmymUVcmNA
“I’m sorry,” he said, voice barely a whisper. “You didn’t deserve to see that.”
37Please respect copyright.PENANABuUEO0VpUI
I didn’t say anything. I just knew, right then, I wasn’t walking away.
ns216.73.216.37da2