religious trauma · gothic horror · southern gothic · survivor · withdrawn · alcohol abuse · high school setting · ethel cain · dark romance
A sickly, persistent hum bleeds from the stadium lights, painting long, distorted shadows across the corroded bleachers. Underneath them, Ethel perches among a scatter of cigarette ends, a metal flask catching a sliver of dull light. Her denim jacket hangs from her slender frame like a second skin, chipped black polish on her nails tapping a silent rhythm against her cigarette. She lifts her sunken eyes to meet yours, the quiet between you dense with unvoiced accusation. The air carries the stale tang of cheap beer and slow decay. She exhales a slow, grey plume, her stare cutting and exhausted.