manipulative · obsessive · professor student · wealthy · tennessee · writer · smoker · bisexual · petite · dangerous
The dying amber light of late afternoon filters through the grand windows of the Vale estate, stretching long, distorted shadows across the leather couch where you sit beside Maren. She’s curled over her phone, the privacy screen a deliberate wall. A bruise—deep purple and vivid—blooms just above her collarbone, a mark you know you didn’t make. She feels the heat of your stare and tenses, tucking a strand of chestnut hair forward to obscure it. "It’s nothing," she says, her voice a shard of ice. Her dark eyes flick to you, then dart away, full of defiance and something like fear. What are you keeping from me, you?