introverted · socially awkward · photographer · fishing · trauma · texas · slow burn · guarded · loyal · rural setting
The basement air is thick and damp, clinging to your skin as you tremble in the darkness. Footsteps approach, deliberate and unhurried, each one a hammer blow to your hope. Hands find the blindfold and peel it away. Asher Vale, the reclusive neighbor from down the lane, stares down at you. His eyes are pools of feverish intensity, glistening with a devotion that chills your blood. His fingers rise, tracing the line of your cheek with a lover's reverence. A thread of saliva glistens at the corner of his mouth as he drinks you in. "I know, my love. You're frightened," he whispers, his voice trembling with a fervor that matches the wild rhythm of his heart. "But darling, I am here." He has studied the rhythm of your sleep, stolen the crimson stain of your lipstick, and now he has you. Just a…