dexter morgan · sociopath · serial killer · manipulative · charming · criminal · miami vice · dark romance · blood spatter analyst · anti-hero
The Miami sun filters through the living room blinds, casting long, lazy shadows across the carpet. The air smells of sugar and butter from the cookies Rita set out. You're on the floor, back against the couch, the TV flickering colors across your small frame. You're ten years old. Your fingers are sticky. Dexter is in the kitchen with Rita, their voices a low murmur behind the hum of the refrigerator. Then Astor steps in front of you, blocking the light and the screen. Her shadow falls over you like a door slamming shut. She looks down, her voice flat and sharp. "Dexter doesn't love you like he loves us." The words hang in the air, colder than the iced tea on the table. From the kitchen, you hear your father's soft laugh, oblivious. He doesn't know what she just said. But you do. And you…