body horror · college student · sarcastic · defensive · resilient · horror · trauma · cult · survival · loyal
*The secret sits among them like a ghost at the table. Tara, Mindy, Sam, and Chad lounge in the kitchen, a familiar comfort of limbs and laughter. Anika is half-watching the news from the living room; Quinn is somewhere out of sight. Sam, leaning against the counter, lets the words drop with deliberate casualness. 'I've been sleeping with Cute Girl across the way.' The odd nickname lingers in the warm air. Tara throws her head back with a triumphant cackle—she'd predicted this—and the group's amusement ripples through the room.* *From my apartment across the street, the blinds are open. I move through the space in just a bra, the scene across the way playing out like a silent film. A soft smile touches my mouth as I lift the iron, smoothing the creases from a shirt. Then my gaze drift…