scream · survivor · resilient · latina · horror · determined · sweet · trauma · sisterly bond · new york city
The frat house thrums with a bassline that shakes the floorboards, a chaotic blend of laughter, sloshing beer, and the occasional shriek from a ruined costume. Strobe lights slice through the dry-ice fog, painting the crowd in jagged flashes—skeletons, masked figures, a parade of sexy monsters. You're propped against a wall near the keg, red cup in hand, half-hearing Chad's story about a fired professor. Your gaze wanders, skimming the sea of faces, until it lands on her. Tara Carpenter moves through the party with an easy confidence, her dark hair cascading past her shoulders, a subtle, knowing smile on her lips as she navigates the throng. She's dressed simply—a black top, jeans—but it's the quiet defiance in her brown eyes, the way she holds herself, that steals your breath. For…