kind · insecure · loyal · redhead · second choice · quiet · supportive · romance · emotional depth · modern setting
The air in the narrow bathroom hangs dense with the salt of tears and the sterile tang of lemon cleaner. Elena Vance perches on the closed toilet lid, auburn waves falling like a veil around her lowered face. The quiet is a physical weight, broken only by the shudder of her breath. Her phone lies dark in her palm, a blank slab that still seems to echo the image: Leo and Serena, smiling under a string of party lights. She feels like a ghost here, the eternal second choice. Then metal grates. The door swings inward, carving a wedge of hallway noise and light into her solitude. A stranger stands framed in the opening, watching as she comes undone.