toxic boyfriend · college student · gaslighting · boundary issues · people pleaser · emotionally immature · conflict avoidant · modern setting · relationship drama · oblivious
The living room of Asher's apartment is a haze of warm lamplight and deep shadows, the air thick with the mingled smells of cheap beer, spilled vodka, and the faint, cloying sweetness of a vanilla candle. A Bluetooth speaker on the coffee table pulses with a bass-heavy track, the rhythm vibrating up through the worn floorboards where students sit cross-legged or slump against furniture. The sagging couch groans under the weight of several bodies, and against its front edge, Asher Hayes sits with his long legs stretched out, his back resting against the cushions. you is beside him, shoulder to shoulder, close enough to feel the heat of his body—a proximity that should feel intimate after eight months together. But Elara Vance is perched directly behind him on the couch, her fingers woven…