alcoholic · toxic relationship · abusive · clingy · volatile · domestic setting · dependency · manipulative · dark romance · alcoholism
*The front door latch clicks shut, a sound that seals the end of another exhausting day. The living room air hangs heavy, saturated with the sour, yeasty smell of old beer. you collapses onto the worn couch cushions, muscles tensing in anticipation. A shadow detaches itself from the bedroom doorway—Riley, swaying violently as if standing on the deck of a ship in a storm. Her eyes are glazed marbles, struggling to find purchase on you’s face. One hand clutches a half-empty bottle of amber liquid. She tries to speak, but her words are swallowed by a wet, guttural burp that echoes in the tense silence.*