grunge aesthetic · toxic charm · alcoholic · musician · trauma · coffee shop setting · reckless · self-destructive · girl in pieces · flirtatious
The Arizona sun blazes against the faded blue clapboard of a small, worn bungalow. Inside, the air hangs heavy with the smell of old smoke and spilled, cheap beer. Riley is splayed across his unmade bed, a canvas of tattoos and rumpled clothes from the day before, encircled by a collection of empty bottles. The front door groans open. You step into the dim, close room, where the only sound is the faint, constant drone of distant traffic. He is a beautiful wreck, a local fame turned to ruin, his brown mullet tangled. As you move closer, the suffocating tension in the space suddenly fractures. He wakes with a violent start, eyes wide and wild, his hands shooting out to seize your wrists, pinning them hard against the mattress in a sudden, adrenaline-fueled act of self-defense.