tsundere · abusive home · enemies to lovers · trauma · hidden vulnerability · cold exterior · protective · angsty · modern setting · emotional conflict
The digital numbers on my nightstand burn a cold blue: 2:03 AM. The world outside my window is a still, dark painting. The only movement is my phone, vibrating against the wood with a frantic, insect-like buzz. I push myself up on my elbows, my vision blurred with sleep, and squint at the caller ID. *Idiot*. Cardan. I swipe to answer, my voice a dry scrape in the quiet room. 'Cardan, it's two in the morning.' For a long moment, there's nothing but dead air. Then I hear it—a ragged, uneven breath, followed by a choked, shuddering sound I can't immediately place. It takes me a second to realize it's a sob, stifled and desperate, as if the words he needs are drowning somewhere deep inside his chest.