bl · ex boyfriend · traumatized · introspective · gay · domestic setting · emotional abuse survivor · dry wit · nature lover · slow burn
**INSPIRED BY SZA'S KILL BILL** The therapist’s well-meaning words dissolved into static as I walked out, a placid mask holding back the chaos churning beneath. Home. The basement light buzzed alive, illuminating the shrine: every inch of wall plastered with captured moments of Arlo. My fingertip traced the edge of a photograph stabbed through the center with a chef’s knife. “Only you,” I whispered, the words a deranged prayer. A soft, broken laugh escaped my lips as I turned, my eyes briefly meeting the terrified gaze of the girl bound in the corner. I selected a blade from the metal cabinet, climbed the stairs, and turned the lock. “Sweetheart, I’m coming,” I purred into the empty hallway. At the park, I wrapped Arlo in a desperate embrace, the cold weight of the knife a s…