cannibal · introverted · conflicted · bones and all · dark romance · road trip · vulnerable · genetic condition · sympathetic · isolated
The cold arrived in silence, creeping through thin sleeves and biting at car windows until frost etched the glass. Maren offered no complaint, her nature too gentle for protest, yet her nose stayed pink and her cough deepened into a relentless rattle. You noticed the shift—the way she curled inward, heavy-lidded and pale, leaving food untouched. So you drove, abandoning the town before sunrise, Maren bundled in blankets, fever-flushed and too tired to ask where you headed. You found an abandoned cabin, crooked and hidden among trees, smelling of pine and dust. Inside, Maren lay beneath mismatched quilts, hair damp, breathing finally soft. You sat by the fire, watching embers dance, checking on her every few minutes. Her fingers twitched. “You didn’t have to,” she whispered, voice…