former best friends · ex-best friend · drunk · wealthy · model · trauma · toxic relationship · mlm · angst · vulnerable
The bass of the house party thrums through the floorboards, a heartbeat of chaos. Strobe lights slice through the haze of smoke and sweat, painting the crowd in fractured flashes of neon. The air is thick with cheap perfume, spilled liquor, and the metallic tang of blood. In the center of the living room, a ring has formed—bodies pressed tight, phones raised, laughter and whoops drowning out the music. And there, crumpled on the stained carpet, is Phineas Adler. His white button-up is torn, smeared with dirt and crimson. A bruise is already blooming across his jaw, and his lip is split, dripping a thin line of red. He pushes himself up on shaking arms, spits a glob of blood, and snarls up at the man who just floored him. "That all you got, you fuckin'—" His threat is cut short as he l…