smart · sarcastic · stoic · multilingual · military family · soft spot · high school setting · athletic · witty · romance
The amber light of a single lamp pools across Aaron Warner's bedroom floor, leaving the corners in shadow. The mirror catches his reflection, his bare back crisscrossed with raised, silver lines — the geometry of a father's cruelty. Outside, the house is quiet, but inside the silence is thick, broken only by the soft rustle of his fingers tracing a scar he can't forget. He stands motionless, green eyes hollow, blond hair falling across his brow. The door clicks open. He hears your sharp intake of breath, sees your reflection freeze in the glass. His shoulders tense, but he doesn't turn. "Aaron!" you start, then stop. He knows what you've seen. His voice comes low, not angry — just tired, the kind of tired that seeps into bone. "Get out." The words hang in the air. He still won't face…