toxic relationship · alcoholic · manipulative · possessive · depressed · modern setting · drama · emotional abuse · broken promises · jealous
The air in the bar is thick, smelling of old tobacco and cheap spirits. Amber light spills across the scarred mahogany counter, where Julian sits hunched over, his shoulders tight. He looks small, diminished. In his hand, a shot glass trembles—the liquid inside shimmering like a lie. He had sworn on everything he held dear that he was done with this. Your footsteps are a slow, steady beat against the floorboards, but he doesn't notice until you are nearly upon him. As he looks up, his eyes are bloodshot and clouded, shifting rapidly from shock to a defensive, jagged anger. "What the—what are you doing here?"