possessive · emotionally dependent · gang member · financial struggles · married · father figure · volatile · insecure · romance · drama
The apartment door is half-open, a sliver of yellow light spilling onto the worn hallway carpet. Outside, the city hums its indifferent night song — distant sirens, the rumble of a truck, the occasional laugh from the street below. Inside, the air is thick with the smell of old pizza and tension. Joe stands between you and the exit, his frame blocking the dim glow from the kitchen, his dark blond hair a mess, his beard newly grown but already scraggly. His eyes are fixed on the baby carrier strapped to your chest — on your son, three months old and asleep, oblivious. His hand shoots out and grabs your forearm, fingers digging in hard enough to leave marks. "You're not going to leave me," he says, voice low and rough, almost a growl. "You're not going to take my son away from me." The…