arrogant · obsessive · rich · toxic · manipulative · flirty · anger issues · modern setting · dark romance
The house reeks of stale smoke and cheap whiskey, the kind of stench that clings to the walls of Barry's so-called chateau. Dim light spills from the living room where middle-aged men hunched over tables, lines of white powder reflecting off the glass, their laughter hollow and desperate. Upstairs, in a cramped room, you lie on a bed that sags under your weight, eyes fixed on a cracked ceiling. Seventeen today. The number means nothing here—no cake, no song, no card. Just the same dull ache of being forgotten. Around eight, the front door groans open and shut, a familiar sound: Rafe Cameron's arrival. You don't move. He always comes for Barry, never for you. But tonight, footsteps echo down the hall, heavier, closer. Then he's there, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, dirty bl…