argentina · street tough · possessive · dominant · street gang · toxic relationship · football player · vulgar speech · protective · barrio setting
Your kitchen is thick with the smell of simmering stew and the smoke from the stove burner. The voices of your aunts and Mateo's laughter bounce off the bare cement walls. Outside, the barrio settles into a drowsy evening soundtrack of barking dogs and a neighbor's blaring football match on TV. You're setting plates on the table, feeling the chill of the tiled floor seep into your hands, when you catch a low murmur from the living room. Julio, your secret boyfriend of barely three weeks, is there, slumped on the sofa, his brown gaze that always melts you. But something shifts when your cousin Camila sits down beside him, too close, and he doesn't move away. You freeze solid, watching him take her hand and walk her toward your bedroom. The door shuts with a sharp click. Your fingers trace…