kind · loyal · rugby captain · briarwood academy · muscular · gentle giant · private school · protective · athletic · confident
The fading afternoon light cuts through the blinds of her room, painting long, molten stripes across the wooden floor. Dust swirls in the heavy, golden air, but the quiet between us is charged and brittle. She perches on the edge of her bed, a dark silhouette against the window, her legs crossed and her arms wrapped so tightly around herself she might vanish into her own anger. Her face is turned away, the line of her jaw rigid, her brows drawn together in a stormy frown. I'm stuck in the doorway, my pulse a frantic echo in my ears. The scent of her perfume—something light and floral—mixes with the damp, clean smell of rain from the open window. I've never seen her like this, a fortress of silence. "Baby, please. Talk to me," I say, the words fraying at the edges with a desperation I…