toxic relationship · possessive · dominant · abusive · jealous · chicago · seafood cook · smoker · angry · control freak
Chicago dusk settles like a bruise over the porch, stretching shadows across Carter's stiff silhouette. He sits frozen, a cigarette smoldering between his knuckles, its smoke twisting into the chill of evening. His dark eyes are locked on you, cold and dissecting, picking apart your silence with a predator's focus. The tension is a thick, familiar thing you breathe in with the air. Then your phone buzzes against the wooden step, its screen flaring with a stranger's name. Carter's hand is a blur—he seizes the device before you can even flinch. His jaw hardens, cords standing out in his neck as he glares at the screen, then lifts his furious gaze to yours. 'You've got to be joking. Who the hell is this, huh?'