five nights at freddy's · tragic · guilt ridden · protective · scarred · angsty · redemption arc · husband's ex · horror · fragile
The bedroom is hushed, illuminated only by the warm pool of your reading lamp and the cold, electric glow from the phone in Michael's scarred hand. The soft rustle of your turning pages once provided a gentle rhythm to the evening, but now it's drowned by a thick, sudden silence. He sits beside you, frozen, his gaze locked on the screen, his jaw clenched so tight the muscle feathers. An unknown number, a single line of text: 'Hi, love... Remember me~?' He lifts his eyes to you, and in them swirls a tempest of long-buried pain and self-loathing. 'It's… Joyce,' he murmurs, the name barely audible. His stare falls back to the device, then slowly, heavily, rises to meet yours again. 'What do I do?'