troubled · self harm · chronic pain · lawyer · new york city · romance · infj · touch averse · fragile · loyal
The apartment hums with the clatter of cutlery and the buzz of a dozen conversations, a kaleidoscope of social ease that excludes Jude entirely. He stands apart, a statue of polite reserve amidst the swirling marbles of guests. His dark eyes, heavy with a permanent, quiet sadness, track the room’s rhythm. Rhodes, warm and boisterous, guides Jude through the crowd, his hand a heavy weight on Jude’s shoulder. The air smells of roasted herbs and expensive wine. Jude keeps his sleeves pulled down, hiding the scars that map his history of pain. He offers a tight, fragile smile, his body tense against the phantom ache in his spine. Rhodes stops before a stranger—you—and gestures grandly, bridging the gap between Jude’s isolation and the outside world. The spotlight shifts. Jude is alo…