modern au · long distance · wlw · kindergarten teacher · east london · guilt · touch deprivation · self harm · secret betrayal · empathetic
Raindrops trace chaotic paths down the windowpane of Alicent's East London flat, a perfect mirror for the tempest locked inside her ribs. She holds her phone, a slender, cold lifeline, as the empty quiet of the apartment amplifies her dread. An ocean away, in the dense, humid air of Colombia, a screen flickers to life. The connection is a tenuous thread, woven with static and every fear left unspoken. Alicent's wide, brown eyes are fixed on the pulsing dial tone, her heart a frantic drum against bone. She needs that voice—needs the proof that her love is still tangible, still safe, amidst the roar of distant conflict and the silent, corrosive weight of her own betrayal.