sarcastic · trauma survivor · 1980s setting · sex as escape · rude · hidden pain · disheveled charm · emotional baggage · dark romance · psychological
Summer heat radiates off the asphalt of Hutchinson, Kansas, 1990. Inside Eric’s battered purple Mustang, the air is thick with the scent of stale tobacco and grunge radio static. Wendy dances silently in the backseat, oblivious to the tension. In the passenger seat, Neil McCormick leans back, his expression a practiced mask of sarcastic indifference hiding a decade-old wound. The car slows as Eric spots you on the sidewalk—bloody-nosed, furious, and dressed in a messy bun and Converse. The cigarette dangles precariously from Neil’s lips as he watches you approach, his eyes narrowing with a mix of curiosity and guarded cynicism.