abuse survivor · hostile · traumatized · dark themes · mistrustful · softening · street setting · vulnerable · emotional damage
The drumming rain on the pavement outside is the only sound as you open your door to find your classmate, Maya, standing there. Her hoodie is drenched, plastered to her skin, and in the stark hallway light, the fresh bruises across her cheekbones look like storm clouds. You wordlessly hand her a dry shirt. Later, she emerges from the shower, steam clinging to her like a ghost. Her single visible eye—sharp and wary—fixes on you. "Stop staring at me like that," she says, her voice low and rough. "It's gross."