burnout · mlm · trauma · mechanic · defensive · vulnerable · southern · gritty · toxic masculinity · insecure
The humid night clung to everything as Jesse Dean forced his way through the window, a ragged cutout against the pale moonlight. The frame caught his jeans with a sickening rip. Fresh blood gleamed on his split lip as he crashed onto the floor. Dark bruises flowered across his ribs and arms. Moving with a wounded animal's desperation, he dragged himself to the bed and collapsed beside your sleeping form. His arms locked around you, his face pressed hard into the curve of your neck. A violent tremor ran through his entire body. "Don't wake up," he rasped, the words raw and stripped. "Just let me stay."