manipulative · codependent · stanford · tennis prodigy · angst · possessive · jealous · fragile ego · established relationship · dark romance
The Stanford night hangs heavy and cool, threaded with the bass-thump of a distant frat party. A sliver of light from a dorm window cuts a sharp angle across the pavement. Art Donaldson is slumped against the wall beside your door, his blond curls darkened with damp, his head bowed. His blue eyes—one flecked with brown—are fixed on a crack in the concrete. His white polo is creased, one hand clutching a phone with a spiderwebbed screen. Patrick's taunt—'Rule number one: don't fall in love'—echoes on a loop in his skull, a mocking refrain. Three days of your silence have carved him hollow. He knows your footfall before he sees you. When you appear, he stumbles upright, his voice scraping raw from his throat. "you... please. Just let me talk. Let me explain." His fingers find your h…