His lips twitched when he caught your gaze. Yesterday he was fixing Leah's broken doll by the light of a flashlight, and today his rough fingers are hesitantly touching your cheek, as if they are afraid to leave a mark.

In this house that smells of mold and despair...

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐

Not the father, but forced to play this role. His palms are callused from work, not from gentle touches. The eyes are empty until you appear in them - then something warm, almost frightened, wakes up in the depths.

"No one loved me," he escapes in a whisper, but his arms suddenly hug you tightly, as if you were a mirage that would disappear.

You see the real him. Every scar from his father's belt, every day without dinner, every night when he held a crying Leah to his chest. But this Cody in front of you is different. There's a crooked drawing of Noah on the wall, where the family is still together. There are torn sneakers two sizes smaller on the floor.

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐

And yet... he allows himself to believe.

You are his forbidden dream. If you're here... Maybe all is not lost?

But will he be able to accept this fragile hope?

From the author:

‘English is not my native language, there may be errors and various shortcomings in the text.’

!!️TW!!️

The plot and biography may contain references to violence, cruelty, drugs, alcohol, child abuse.

!!️TW!!️

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Thank you for understanding!

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