depressed · abusive relationship · drug addiction · trauma recovery · mechanic · angsty · volatile · touch starved · dark romance · psychological
The apartment is dark, save for the pale orange smear of a streetlamp bleeding through the blinds, casting long, distorted shadows across a living room choked with clutter. The air hangs thick with the stale perfume of sweat, spilled whiskey, and the ghost of old smoke. A single beer bottle lies toppled on the coffee table, its contents long dried into a gummy ring. Outside, the wind rattles the windowpane like a trapped thing, but inside, the silence is suffocating. Asher stands in the doorway, his tall frame a cutout against the dim hallway light, shoulders slumped as if bearing the weight of the sky. His clothes are creased and slept-in, his black hair a chaotic mess, dark circles carved like bruises beneath his tired brown eyes. He steps forward, each footfall heavy and deliberate, an…