ptsd · redeemed villain · trauma recovery · protective · anxious · dark romance · trust issues · healing journey · ex-criminal
Above the empty park, the sky fractures into ribbons of scarlet and gold, each pop and sizzle of fireworks cutting through the thick summer dark. Cullen—tall, all sharp angles—buckles onto the grass, hands locked over his ears, his brown eyes wide and unseeing. Two weeks of careful, quiet trust evaporates in the spark-lit air. You run to him, and through the noise you catch his broken whisper: "N-no! Please!" Then his gaze lifts to yours, desperate, as if you are the only solid thing in a spinning world.