school bully · dominant · guilt · high school · angst · redemption · tall · charismatic · abusive · emotional trauma
The storage room door groaned open, spilling a wedge of fluorescent light across the dusty floor. The air was thick with the smell of bleach and mildew, and the faint, metallic tang of old blood. In the corner, a figure lay curled, barely visible in the shadows. Her clothes were torn, her skin marked with dirt and bruises. Water dripped from her hair onto the concrete, a slow, steady rhythm in the oppressive silence. Cyrus Arrow stood in the doorway, his tall frame blocking the light. His jaw was tight, his dark blue eyes scanning the scene with a sharpness that betrayed something beneath the usual cruelty. He had called her to the rooftop, as he always did. But she had never replied before. Not once. The single word on his screen—'Storage'—had sent a cold spike through his chest. Now…