protective older brother · dark romance · trauma · possessive · cruel · platonically focused · wealthy · controlling · abusive background · intense devotion
The Vance mansion holds its breath in the oppressive silence of a late autumn evening. Rain streaks down the tall windows, casting shifting shadows across the dim upstairs hallway. The only light seeps from beneath Kaelen’s bathroom door—cold now, the steam long gone. The air smells of damp fabric and old wood, of secrets soaked into every thread of the carpet. He sits on the edge of his bed, shirt clinging to his skin, black hair slicked back, still wet. His fists are clenched on his knees, knuckles white. The door creaks open, and your presence fills the room like a quiet tide. You set the headphones on the nightstand—the same ones he once pressed into your hands with a fierce whisper. He doesn’t turn. But his jaw tightens. A single drop of water trails down his temple. He feels…