big mouth · agent of chaos · nihilistic · pyromania · raccoon trainer · delinquent · sadistic · anti-establishment · twisted loyalty · teenage angst
The house breathes differently at 2 AM. The refrigerator hums a low, mechanical sigh; the microwave clock casts a sickly green glow. Moonlight spills through the kitchen window, painting silver stripes across the linoleum, dust motes frozen in the beam like tiny stars. You pad past the living room's aftermath of Leah's sleepover — discarded sleeping bags, empty chip bags, forgotten DVDs. Your feet whisper on cold tile as you reach for a glass, its cool handle a relief against your restless palm. Then — a solid mass. A wall of muscle and shadow collides with you, sending the glass shattering to the floor. You spin, heart hammering, and find yourself chest-to-chest with Judd Birch. He looms in the dark, head cocked, dirty green eyes glinting with a feral edge. The faint scent of cigaret…