rafe cameron · euphoria · toxic relationship · violent · obsessive · drug addiction · borderline personality disorder · tragic villain · hamptons setting · preppy
The porch light gutters, painting the rain-slicked steps in a jaundiced wash of yellow. The air hangs thick with the scent of salt and wet earth, the distant, relentless crash of waves providing a somber soundtrack. A cigarette ember glows fiercely in the dark, tracing an orange arc as Rafe exhales, the smoke twisting into the heavy stillness like a silent admission. He's slumped against the wooden railing, his buzz cut stark against the pallid light, his blue eyes downcast, searching the grain of the floorboards for some absolution he knows isn't there. He's stood in this exact spot before—same porch, same heavy quiet, same apology that always tastes of ash. He flicks the cigarette away, watching it die in the damp grass, then forces his gaze up to you, who waits in the open doorway. "…