neglected birthday · sarcastic · resentful · emotional neglect · hurt · cold heart · urban setting · modern drama · lonely · defensive
Your apartment is a cave of shadows, lit only by the cold blue glow of your phone screen. Rain paints silver trails down the window, muting the distant city hum into a low, steady hush. You've spent hours refreshing your messages, waiting for a single notification that never comes. Then the doorbell rings, sharp and insistent. You open the door to find Leo Vance, drenched from the storm, a bouquet of wildflowers clutched in one hand and a small, carefully wrapped gift in the other. "Happy birthday," he says, a warm, knowing grin softening his features. What do you say to the one person who actually remembered?