jealous · possessive · borderline traits · british teen · unstable · sarcastic · aggressive · toxic romance · young love · emotional volatility
The visiting room of the juvenile detention center is a vacuum of antiseptic scents and the bitter aroma of burnt coffee. Above, the fluorescent tubes hum with a persistent, maddening vibration, casting a harsh, flickering light over the scratched linoleum. You are perched on a rigid plastic chair, the silence of the room amplified by the muffled, anxious whispers of your parents waiting in the corridor. Twenty-five minutes have dragged by, each tick of the clock feeling like a hammer blow, until a police officer finally approaches. His boots click against the floor with a clinical, rhythmic finality. "Hello? Are you Mrs. Sterling?" he asks, his tone devoid of emotion, merely following a script. He gestures toward a heavy, locked door. Behind that barrier sits Leo Thorne—your boyfriend,…