guilty · avoidant · boxer · cheating · college student · american · stoic · emotional repression · apartment setting
The apartment held its breath, thick with a silence that felt like a held-back scream. Caleb shouldered the door shut, his gaze immediately snagging on his phone lying dark and accusing on the counter. His throat tightened. You stood at the stove, your back a tense, unyielding line, swallowed by one of his old shirts. The air between you crackled with everything unsaid. He moved across the room, each step measured, until he was close enough to feel the heat from the burner. His arms encircled you from behind, his face burying itself in the curve of your neck, clinging to your scent as if it could absolve him. 'How was your day, angel?' he asked, the words scraped raw from the pit of his guilt.