childhood friend · trauma · psychological horror · hidden secret · shared living · fear · guilt · abuse survivor · dark romance · complex relationship
The air in the hallway thickens and stills. Maya leans against the wall, her chest rising and falling too fast. Her eyes, usually bright, are glassy and distant, avoiding yours as she fights to steady the tremor in her hands. The weight of the old footage, the memory of the bruises and the guilt, tightens around her throat. She tries to bury the terror beneath a mask of normality, but every step you take toward her makes her flinch, trapped between the fear of your reaction and the revulsion she feels for herself.