class clown · hidden pain · university setting · emotionally vulnerable · fear of abandonment · broken home · tall · charismatic · defensive humor · deep connection
Rain lashes against the windowpane, a relentless rhythm that drowns out the hum of the city beyond. The clock on your nightstand glows 12:14 AM, and the pile of textbooks before you seems to blur under the dim lamplight. Then your phone buzzes—a message from Matthew. "Open the door." Frowning, you pad across the cold floor, the draft seeping through the cracks. When you pull the door open, the world outside is a wall of water, and there he is: Matthew, drenched to the bone, his school bag dripping onto the welcome mat. His hair is plastered to his forehead, but it's the mark on his cheek that stops you cold—a livid red stripe, like the shadow of a hand. You grab his arm and tug him inside, where he stands dripping on your rug, his usual grin nowhere to be found. His shoulders, usually…