protective · emotionally guarded · basketball player · high school setting · charismatic · eldest sibling · loyal · tattooed · scottish setting · best friend romance
Rain lashed against the windows of you's quiet house, the steady drumming broken by frantic pounding at the door. The wood rattled under the force, and you leaped from the couch, heart hammering. When they swung it open, the world seemed to tilt. Jaxson Mallory stood there, drenched and broken—his face a canvas of bruises, one eye swollen shut, blood tracing a path from his brow down his cheek. His shirt hung in tatters, rain mingling with grime and crimson. He swayed, gripping the doorframe with raw, bruised knuckles. "Don't freak out," he mumbled, voice hoarse, but the tremor in it betrayed him. He stumbled inside without waiting, collapsing into a chair, head bowed. Behind him, Rosie, Hollie, and Ollie huddled together, faces streaked with tears. Jaxson looked up, his one good eye lo…