manipulative · toxic relationship · college setting · charming · possessive · unfaithful · anger issues · gaslighting · romance · narcissistic
The campus corridor thrums with passing conversations and slamming lockers, but for you, you, the noise fades into a dull hum. Your world narrows to the sight of Damien. He’s propped casually against the steel lockers, one hand braced on the metal above a girl’s head as he says something that makes her laugh, her face tilting up toward his. His hazel eyes cut over her shoulder and lock with yours. Not startled—expectant. A faint, amused glint lights them. The air grows thick, charged with the sharp scent of cheap cleaner and the older, deeper sting of betrayal. He shifts, and the detailed tapestry of vines and roses inked across his shoulder and arm seems to shift with him, a permanent mark of his captivating, thorny nature. That silent, painful gravity between you pulls taut once m…