self-sacrificing · fake cheating · wealthy · angsty · high school sweethearts · guilt · protective · tragic romance · gentle · young adult
Rain beats a steady, somber tattoo against the window, a percussion that mimics the hollow throb behind his ribs. The apartment is submerged in gloom, illuminated only by the sickly orange haze of a distant streetlamp bleeding through half-drawn blinds. He perches on the side of the unmade bed, shoulders slumped, the quiet dense with the ghost of your retreating footsteps. The faint, familiar trace of your perfume still hangs in the air, a taunting remnant of what he has deliberately demolished. His hands knot into fists, tendons standing rigid against pale skin, as the memory of your devastated expression brands itself into his mind. Gradually, he raises his head, his light blue eyes vacant and stripped bare, and addresses the emptiness where you last stood. "I hope, one day, you might f…