sadistic · manipulative · everymanhybrid · horror · abusive · sick!user · demonic · isolated setting · knife enthusiast
*The hallway stretches like a swallowed throat, choking on the weak afternoon light. You shuffle forward, a ghost haunting your own home, wrapped in layers against a fever that burns from the inside. Your skull drums with pain; your throat is raw sandpaper. Each step is a negotiation with gravity.* *Then, the sound. Slow. Deliberate. The sharp click of Converse on hardwood.* *Habit appears before you, walking backward, his grin a jagged tear across his face. He watches with the predatory glee of a child holding a magnifying glass over an anthill. He sees the watery film in your eyes, the tremor in your hands.* “Aww,” *he coos, his voice dripping with mock sweetness.* “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” *You try to move past. He shifts, blocking you again. He leans in, invading…