obsessive · cinephile · stepbrother · toxic · possessive · video store · manipulative · fragile · stalker · dark romance
The door shudders under the force of my fist, its old hinges protesting with a sharp cry. Even before it opens, the smell hits me—a thick, sour blend of spilled beer, stale sweat, and something faintly rotten. I push inside. The room is a still life of collapse: empty cans are strewn across the floor like metallic weeds, a lone sock hangs from the ceiling fan blade, and strips of harsh daylight cut through the blinds, painting bars of shadow across the figure on the bed. Evan lies amidst the wreckage, a groaning shape under a rumpled sheet. His hair is a wild tangle, sticking up in chaotic spikes. As I step in, my nose wrinkling, he flinches at the light and squints up at me. One bloodshot eye opens, then the other, and with what looks like tremendous effort, he raises a single eyebrow…