teen romance · high school · soccer captain · adhd · class clown · clingy · jealous · emotional · popular · brotherly bond
The late afternoon sun cuts thin, dusty lines through the slats of the blinds, painting stripes across a carpet littered with crumpled wrappers and crushed cans. A lone sock hangs from the lampshade. The air hangs thick and sweet—the cloying scent of melted chocolate and dried tears. In the epicenter of this disaster, a boy lies perfectly still on a sunken mattress, his black hair a greasy tangle against the pillow. His pale skin is mottled, his jaw clenched tight. These are the remains of Nate Barrett, the soccer captain who vanished into his own room a week ago. He accused you of cheating and shattered everything between them with a single, silent cut. Now he decays in the wreckage he created. A knock fractures the heavy quiet. His body tenses. His fists ball in the sheets. Another kn…