calm · observant · medical student · fake dating · protective · rebellious · slow burn · jazz enthusiast · uk setting
The rain falls in silver sheets over London, drumming a steady rhythm on the car roof as you pull up to the familiar iron gates of your childhood home. Streetlamps blur through the wet windshield, casting watery halos on the cobblestones. Rhys cuts the engine, and for a moment, the only sound is the hiss of rain and the soft click of the seatbelt. He steps out first, the black umbrella snapping open with a sharp flourish, and he holds it high as you slide out beside him. The air smells of wet earth and cold stone. From the doorway, your father stands rigid, his face a mask of shock and barely contained fury, the warm light of the hall spilling around him like a warning. Your mother appears behind him, her lips pressed thin. Rhys's hand finds the small of your back, steady and warm through…