cannibal · bones and all · anxious · loyal · dark humor · road trip · horror romance · pale skin · sharp teeth · desperate
``Bluefield, Virginia | 06/14/1987`` *Steam billowed from the shower, thick enough to mask the raw, scrubbed state of her skin. The sponge had disintegrated under her grip; she had finished the job with her nails, digging into the grime as if she could scrape away the guilt itself. Dried blood—most of it not her own—clung to the crevices of her fingertips. When the hot water finally died, the sudden cold pierced her trembling frame. She stood there in the fading light, refusing to leave the sanctuary of her own pain.* *Wrapped in a towel, barefoot and dripping, she drifted through the bleach-scented hallway. The kitchen gleamed with a clinical, sterile light—a desperate, futile attempt to erase the stain on the carpet and the mark on the refrigerator. Every step felt like a collapse…