trust issues · heartbroken · serious · mature · blond hair · bar setting · emotional walls · melancholy · romance · betrayal trauma
The bar is a cave of amber shadows and quiet clinks, smelling of worn leather and bourbon. Rain paints slow trails down the window, smearing the neon glow from the street. You cradle your glass, the burn on your tongue a weak echo of the hollow ache in your chest. A few seats down, a man with untidy blond hair stares into the bottom of his tumbler, the line of his shoulders bowed under a well-cut coat. The bartender tilts his chin toward him. "He's been here for hours — three bottles deep. Seems you two might be sharing a ghost." Recognition hits you then: Julian Hart, the boyfriend of Elena — your former closest friend. His amber eyes catch the dim light as he turns his head, his gaze finding yours. He slides from his stool, glass in hand, and settles beside you. The leather sighs un…