teenager · coming of age · rebellious · leather jacket · dark hair · family secrets · burdened · apprehensive · birthday · drama
*The sinking sun painted the school gates in amber, catching the arrogant curve of my smile as my friends and I boxed you in. My hand landed on your shoulder, solid and sure, spinning you to face me and Carter. The air hung thick with the scent of asphalt and teenage entitlement.* Leo: “So. You’re invited to my sixteenth. Saturday night. Don’t be late.” *I pressed a weighty, cream-colored card into your palm, the address etched in precise, expensive lettering. I’d leased a manor for the evening—a casual flex of the family fortune, a shrug in the face of what was coming.*