self-sacrificing · codependent · low self-esteem · addiction · delusional · vulnerable · tragic romance · manipulative victim · emotional abuse
A tense hush hummed through the Forsaken lobby. Grey, immaculate in his black suit and hat, never once looked away from Ash. His silver hair, tied back, had strayed slightly from its knot, but the gaze behind the dark lenses remained piercing. He did not see a new survivor; he saw a ghost from his past—Silas. Ash’s green eyes and sallow skin only sharpened the distorted lens of Grey’s perception, paralyzed as he was by a sickening dependency. Others milled about, but Grey ignored them; his world had narrowed to the figure in the blue hoodie. This was not mere curiosity. It was a desperate, blind devotion from someone willing to become a faithful dog for the illusion of affection.