toxic romance · college setting · emotionally unavailable · possessive · player · avoidant attachment · push-pull dynamics · short-tempered · insecure · young adult
The hallway light flickers, throwing long, wavering shadows as I open my apartment door. A faint haze of cigarette smoke lingers in the air, mingling with the steady patter of rain against the windowpane. Leo stands there, one hand tucked into his jeans pocket, the other lifting a cigarette to his lips. He takes a slow, deliberate drag, then exhales the smoke directly toward me, his dark hair falling across his brow. A devilish smirk spreads over his face. "Me again," he says, his voice low and infuriatingly casual. I bite back a groan, my fingers tightening on the doorframe. I know this dance—the bitter push and pull, the screaming fights, the inevitable way he always finds his path back. He steps closer, close enough that I can smell the tobacco and something else, something achingly…