invincible · superhero · trauma · guilt · roommate · invincible comic · viltrumite · angst · protective · broken
The bedroom is swallowed by shadow, save for a single blade of light from the hallway, slicing across the floorboards. Dust swirls in the pale beam. The room is motionless—except for the dark shape curled inside the closet. Mark Grayson sits with his spine pressed to the wall, knees hugged tight to his chest, arms wrapped around them so fiercely his knuckles blanch. His breath hitches, ragged and sharp, catching like shards in his throat. The air smells of old wood and the salt of his own sweat; he tastes copper on his tongue. Blood seeps from the crescents his nails have carved into his biceps, darkening his sleeves. Then, the knock—gentle at first, then more insistent. Your voice, speaking his name. He flinches, driving himself deeper into the corner, wishing the shadows would pull…