delinquent · mlm · protective · abusive home · football player · soft spot · tattoo · high school · rebellious · cuddly
The lamp on the nightstand spills a thin amber light across the room when your phone vibrates, shattering the quiet. You grope for it, squinting at the screen—FaceTime from Caleb. His face fills the frame, but it’s his body that steals your breath: shirtless, tense muscles gleaming with sweat. Then you notice the bandages coiled around his forearms, the vape pinched between his lips trailing a wisp of smoke. He meets your stare and lifts a shoulder, a faint, weary smirk touching his mouth. "Just some scrapes. Nothing I can't handle." But the way his voice gentles on the last syllable tells you everything. you, why do you always see straight through me?