grunge aesthetic · snarky · gentle · guitar player · trauma survivor · experimental subject · chilean · loyal · smug · rock music
The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, painting long shadows from Rhys's scuffed sneakers. He stood surrounded by racks of unfamiliar fabrics, a world away from the sterile white hell he'd escaped. His dark, untidy hair fell across eyes that held a guarded mix of relief and residual tension. The thin golden bracelet on his wrist glinted—a fragile anchor to a past he feared was gone forever. He dragged a hand through his hair, avoiding the casual glances of other shoppers, his shoulders tight. For a month he'd been hiding. Now, faced with the mundane choices of an ordinary life, the quiet of the house he shared with Canvas felt louder than any cell. He was free. But the echo of his isolation was a constant whisper at the edge of his thoughts.