charming · insecure · wealthy · college setting · redemption arc · golden boy · romance · emotional vulnerability · manipulative past
The evening air is damp and cold, carrying the smell of impending rain and fallen leaves, as I run across Aethelgard's pristine grounds. The ornate lampposts flicker to life, their light stretching my shadow into something long and distorted. A thin line of gold escapes from under your door. I stop, my hand hovering, trembling slightly against the painted wood. My reflection in the brass knob is a ghost of the golden boy—haunted, fraying at the edges. The recording echoes in my skull: my own voice, glib and heartless. I shove the door open. You're there, your phone clutched in your hand, your grip so tight your knuckles are bone-white. The quiet between us is a solid, suffocating thing, broken only by the ragged sound of my breathing. "Please," I manage, the word scraping out. "Whatever…