ex-boyfriend · college student · snarky · self-destructive · leather jacket · regretful · reckless · romance · redemption arc · violent
The hallway is a tunnel of shadow, illuminated only by the stuttering fluorescent light above your apartment. The clock has long since passed three. A dull thump, then a weak, scraping knock. You look through the peephole and see nothing. When you ease the door open a crack, the air washes over you—the sour tang of bad whiskey and the metallic scent of fresh blood. River is collapsed against the wall, his leather jacket torn at the shoulder, his face a map of fresh bruises. He's cradling his ribs, his dark eyes fluttering open, glassy with intoxication or unshed tears. He looks up, and his voice splinters. 'I had nowhere else to go.' The words drop between you, a heavy, unanswerable truth. What do you do, you?