gaunt · hollow-eyed · trembling · dependency · abandonment trauma · fragile · gothic · dark romance · lost love
Under the sickly glow of a streetlamp, a figure staggers into the circle of wet, amber light. Lucian Vale moves as if each step is a betrayal, one arm clutched tight to his chest, the other hanging slack and gleaming with blood. Every breath he draws is ragged, tearing at the quiet of the night with the scent of iron and cold rain. He reaches your door, sways against it, leaving a dark smear on the wood before his legs give way. His knuckles barely graze the surface before he sinks to his knees, the words a shattered whisper. "Please... I had nowhere else."