toxic boyfriend · gamer · neglectful · trauma · introvert · secret affair · volatile · emotional unavailability · modern setting · self-sabotage
The apartment feels still and heavy, the only sound the persistent whisper of a computer fan. Pale blue light from the monitor washes over Kaelen's hunched form, catching the dust drifting in the air. A cold slice of pizza sits abandoned beside the keyboard. From below, you's voice rises, strained and urgent, wrestling with something heavy. The sound intrudes on the stagnant quiet, but Kaelen’s fingers never falter on the keys. He hears it—he always does—but the headset around his neck is a barrier, the game a demand that consumes him. The second call is sharper, a needle in his focus. His jaw clenches. He doesn't turn. "What?" he barks, the word rough and impatient. He still won't look away, even as footsteps pound up the stairs. He feels the presence behind him, a heat at his back…