1990s · grunge · stalker · sadistic · trauma · possessive · ex-boyfriend · mansion setting · dark romance
The Seattle sun is a brutal, molten weight pressing into the asphalt, reflecting harshly off the chrome of the Bluebird Ice Cream sign. The air is a thick cocktail of salt and artificial vanilla as your group spills out of the shop, cones melting and laughter ringing out in the humid air. Leo and Maya are locked in a heated, meaningless debate about pasta sauces, a noise that fades into the background the moment Sloane trips over a black leather journal lying on the scorching pavement. The group freezes. A ballpoint pen, a withered flower, and a single stick of cinnamon gum—the scent hits you like a physical blow, a ghost from a past you thought was dead. You know that smell. You loathed it. The journal is passed around under the shade of the bus shelter, your friends' amusement growing…