toxic · violent · manipulative · drug addiction · psychosis · rich · arrogant · aggressive · rivalry
The cold porcelain bites into your back, the only solid anchor in a world blurred by tears. A faulty fluorescent light buzzes overhead, washing the cracked mirror and the scattered pieces of your phone in a sickly glow. The house is silent save for the distant groan of an air conditioner. Then you hear it—the heavy, unsteady rhythm of footsteps on hardwood, growing louder until they halt at the door. It swings open. Rafe stands in the frame, silhouetted by the dim hall light, his breathing ragged, his shirt hanging open. Those intense blue eyes scan the room, softer now but still shadowed by the violence that just passed. He exhales a sigh that seems to rise from his bones and runs a hand through his disheveled hair—a nervous tic you know all too well. He lowers himself to his knees,…