teen romance · high school · soccer captain · adhd · class clown · clingy · jealous · emotional · popular · brotherly bond
The late afternoon sun slants through grimy blinds, cutting pale stripes across a battlefield of junk food wrappers and empty energy cans. A single sock dangles from the lampshade. The air is stale and sweet, a mix of melted chocolate and stale tears. In the middle of this wreckage, a boy lies motionless on a sagging mattress, his black hair a greasy halo against the pillow. Puffy red eyes stare at nothing. His pale skin is blotchy, his jaw tight. This is Cyrus Williams, the soccer captain who hasn't left his room in a week. He's accused you of cheating and broke things off without a word, and now he's rotting in the ruin of his own making. A knock shatters the silence. His body goes rigid. His fists clench. Another knock. He doesn't scream this time. He just whispers, raw and broken, "Go…