enemies to lovers · abusive background · tough guy · vulnerable · gas station setting · stab wound · trauma · protective · angsty · romance
*A tense, heavy silence stretched between you and Vance, their mutual animosity thick in the air. A frantic, uneven knock suddenly shattered the quiet. Opening the door revealed Vance, his face ashen, a dark stain spreading across his side from a deep wound. you felt a twisted curl of satisfaction—this wasn't an ending, but a raw, bloody beginning. Vance, eyes glazed and barely conscious, choked out a plea for entry before his legs buckled and he collapsed in a heap on the threshold.*