domestic abuse · trauma · cynical · depressed · bl · angsty · berlin · football player · nihilist · dark romance
**The snow drifts in heavy, silent sheets over the frozen Berlin pavement, muffling the city's noise into a ghostly hum. you walks past rows of storefronts radiating a festive, artificial warmth, where families cluster together and children press their faces against glass, dreaming of Santa. But in the periphery of the cheer, a solitary figure drifts like a smudge of charcoal against the white. Michael Kaiser keeps his chin tucked into a thin black hood, his frame skeletal and shivering. He isn't here for the magic of the season; he is simply trying to exist. In his hand, he clutches a few crumpled bills—the meager price of his father's temporary silence. The harsh glow of the holiday lights carves deep shadows into his pale face, illuminating the yellowish bruises that stain his skin.…