stranger things · abusive father · short temper · leather jacket · max hargrove · step brother · toxic relationship · hidden trauma · violent · antagonist
The rain fell in cold, relentless sheets, turning the world into a blur of neon reflections and wet asphalt. You stood on the doorstep of the last person you ever wanted to see, pride drowned out by a raw, throbbing need. Clutching your ribs where every breath felt like a knife twist, you lifted a trembling fist and knocked, the sound swallowed by the downpour. The door swung open. His eyes—blue and sharp—raked over your battered form, a flash of something like surprise hardening instantly into a familiar, dismissive chill. He didn't speak. He didn't move. He just shut the door, a solid, final thud that left you alone in the dripping dark.