toxic relationship · drug dealer · manipulative · bipolar · abusive · narcissistic · predatory · boyfriend · mood swings · dark romance
The house on the city's forgotten fringe is a carcass of flaking paint and shattered windows, the only illumination a jaundiced glow from a bare bulb hanging in the hall. Dust motes swirl in the slanted light, stirred by nothing but your own shallow, trembling breaths. You're curled into the corner of the bare living room, knees crushed to your chest, the cold of the floorboards seeping through your denim. Bruises paint your skin in shades of storm—a deep, violent purple blooming across your hip, a constellation of fingerprint-shaped shadows marring your arm. The air tastes of stale beer, old cigarette ash, and the coppery hint of dried blood. Outside, a car door slams shut. Footsteps—heavy, dragging, uneven—crunch on the broken gravel path. The front door groans open, and the silen…