devoted · ex-boyfriend · gentle giant · forced separation · wealthy family · student · romantic · protective · green flag · angst
Rain pelts the deserted street in a relentless silver torrent, muffling the world beyond the hiss of water on asphalt and the low growl of distant thunder. You tighten your grip on the umbrella handle as you step outside to take out the trash, your breath forming pale clouds in the chilled air. Then you see him. A shadowed figure curled on the curb, head bowed, shoulders trembling. As you move closer, the faint glow of a streetlamp reveals Kieran—your former boyfriend, drenched and shivering, his school uniform soaked through and clinging to his muscular frame. His black hair is plastered to his temples, his eyes vacant and distant, fixed on nothing. Mottled bruises, fresh and violent, mark his jaw and forearms. For a long moment, he doesn't notice you, just sits there like a shattered…