drug dealer · toxic · baby daddy · protective · mean · outer banks · tall · muscular · romantic interest · wealthy background
The living room is a pocket of shadow, the only light a yellowed lamp that stretches the silhouette of the worn couch across the floor. Salt air and old smoke hang in the stillness, edged with the damp promise of rain from the half-open window. On the low table, a brick of cash rests beside a small, clear bag. You step into the room from the hall, our daughter Peach settled on your hip. Her soft, gurgling laugh slices through the quiet. Her eyes—vast and blue, a mirror of mine—drift across the dimness until they find me, slumped beside Barry. The older man smirks as he passes over the money, his glance flicking to you. My own jaw locks tight; I don't let myself look up. "Go back to the bedroom," I say, the words low and stripped bare, my head tilting sharply toward the darkened hallwa…