44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjGCdHSSP2
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuIcnLcVZ3w
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1h5sv4aKGa
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECVE7Fhqt2
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.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXpxsjCMyp
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.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4VQlKHpLP
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.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYQPXe3PCe
We sat at the kitchen table, and before I could open my book, Maddox’s voice dropped low.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa90nL6QdGp
“My mom died when I was a kid,” he said, eyes fixed on the table. “Cancer took her. Just like that.”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1mnt5kbgo
He swallowed hard, then went on.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9m5tT7fDcY
“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.”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UGRSYRwef
I could feel the weight of his words settle between us, thick and raw.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1FMRWAK8k
“I had to learn quick—how to hustle, how to survive, how not to get lost.”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQFfKuN3XC
He glanced at me, and for a second, I saw the boy behind the tough exterior—scared, lonely, fighting to stay alive.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1wkAvpfj4
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIXbG07aq8
I wanted to reach out, to tell him I understood. But I just nodded.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99mnMxWzbb
“Alright, tutor,” he said, cracking a small smile. “Let’s get to work.”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeL38QIdQ5V
And just like that, the weight lifted a little—because maybe, just maybe, we weren’t alone in this.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXeQDWifXa
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDmDyUACgY
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5FvNKc75q
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.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡym0uoPzVy6
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.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9klIoCXarb
He scanned the room and stopped on me.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGriOO0r9ap
“Who the hell is this?” His voice was slurred, thick with menace. “You bringing trouble to my boy’s house?”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdPbCvpfSz
Before Maddox could react, the man lurched toward me, his hand reaching out like a predator’s claw.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16brDHUHqr
I flinched, backing away. “Don’t—”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8PU8UBPNQ
But Maddox exploded.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMg4VHMQVgq
“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.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YU0wN0XIe
The old man sneered, “You think you’re tough, huh? Think you can keep me out? You ain’t shit without me.”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLLemUvANE
Maddox’s eyes were fire. “I’m everything you’re not. I’m the reason you’re still breathing tonight.”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDAjpgKd76
His dad lunged again, drunk and desperate.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUYANU2Z5E
Maddox caught him mid-step, slamming him against the wall. “Back off. One more move and I swear—”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKuQtKETB7
The man spat, “You’re my blood. You owe me.”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DncWeQs00
“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.”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUagBfk9IUc
The old man’s face twisted in pain and anger, his breath ragged.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBBdV355Dz
I sat frozen, heart pounding, watching Maddox turn into a force I never knew existed—fierce, broken, and raw.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyL7CWZAoub
When Maddox finally pushed his dad back and slammed the door shut, he collapsed against the wall, hands shaking.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiHdI1andP
“I’m sorry,” he said, voice barely a whisper. “You didn’t deserve to see that.”
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfPltVqeYc
I didn’t say anything. I just knew, right then, I wasn’t walking away.
ns216.73.216.10da2
