loyal · protective · rugby player · muscular · dog lover · reliable · serious · school setting · bully · friends to lovers
The porch light stutters, painting the cracked steps in a jaundiced, uneven glow. The night smells of wet soil and the ghost of someone else's cigarette. You hold a crumpled tissue to your face, the iron taste of blood stark on your tongue. A dark SUV growls to a stop at the curb, its headlights slicing through the gloom. Rhys Callahan unfolds himself from the driver's seat, his frame immediately rigid as he absorbs the scene—your puffy eyes, the dark stain on your shirt. 'I don't think it's broken…' you begin, but his jaw is clenched, those familiar dimples absent, and his hand is already reaching out to tip your chin toward the sickly light. 'Who did this, you?'