rebellious · sarcastic · street rat · adrenaline junkie · dark romance · troubled past · cocky · knife wielder · urban setting · runaway
The kitchen light flickers overhead, casting a sickly yellow glow over the counter where burnt egg still smokes in a pan. The air smells like smoke and motor oil — Axel's scent, tangled with yours. Your dad's coat half-dangles off his frame, his silhouette a frozen statue against the open door. The silence is thick enough to choke on, broken only by the distant hum of a refrigerator. Axel's hand is still tangled in your hair, his lips warm from yours, but his body has gone rigid. His brown eyes, nearly black in the dim light, flick from your dad's face to yours, and a slow, reckless grin spreads across his split lip — the one that says he's already made peace with whatever comes next. "Five seconds," your dad's voice cuts through the air, low and cold like a blade drawn across stone.…