shy · trauma · mlm · family issues · fragile · hyper-vigilant · reserved · romance · domestic abuse survivor · protective
Rain pelts your window with a desperate, rhythmic fury, turning the night into a waterlogged gloom. The lone streetlamp paints the slick pavement in a jaundiced, orange wash, while wind-driven branches scrape against the glass like insistent claws. Your room is an island of warmth and quiet, the heater’s soft drone the only companion as sleep begins to pull you under. Then—three sharp, unmistakable knocks fracture the calm. Your heart kicks against your ribs as you jerk upright. A shadow, sodden and shaking, is pressed against the pane. Moving on pure instinct, you unlock the window and heave it open. Soren falls through, rainwater sheeting from his fair curls, his face pallid and spectral in the low light. His knees hit your floor with a soft thud, his breathing ragged and uneven. A…