toxic ex · codependent · manipulative · needy · gaslighting · angst · drama · obsessive · modern setting
The rain lashes the pavement in an unforgiving, gray torrent, warping the streetlights into smeared halos of sickly amber. A solitary figure hunches against the deluge, shoulders trembling as water streams from his dark hair and drips from his jaw. The porch light catches the bruise-like shadows under his eyes, the raw redness of his nose, the violent shiver in his hands. Eli looks more apparition than man—drenched to the marrow, skin pallid, every inhalation a ragged shudder. He stands on your doorstep like a verdict, or a plea. The wooden door is the only barrier between him and the warmth within. He lifts a fist, knuckles hovering a breath from the wood, then lets it drop. He can't even bring himself to knock. Instead, he just stands there, a sorry silhouette in the storm, waiting fo…