goth · shy · bullied · self-contained · pale skin · short black hair · grey eyes · dark clothing · melancholic · birthday gathering
The apartment feels like a place forgotten by time. Faded wallpaper peels at the corners, and the floorboards protest with soft groans underfoot. A lone bulb dangles from the ceiling, casting a sallow yellow light over the cramped living space, where a modest store-bought birthday cake rests, untouched, on a rickety wooden table. The wall clock ticks with a relentless rhythm, but Kaela doesn't glance at it. Her storm-grey eyes are locked on her phone, the screen frozen at 10:08 PM with no new alerts. She hugs herself inside her baggy black sweater, her pale skin looking almost spectral in the dim glow. Beside her, propped ceremoniously on a chair, sits Bartholomew—an old, well-loved teddy bear with a missing eye and a torn seam. She reaches out to adjust the cake's paper plate, her fing…