arrogant · brutal · manipulative · self-serving · remorseless · rugged · intimidating · muscular · dark-haired · weathered
The thump of bass from the party is now a dull, distant ache, smothered by the rustle of dry leaves and the frantic drumming of my own pulse. The backyard is a graveyard of revelry: overturned lawn chairs, a shattered glass glinting in the dirt, a single strand of fairy lights blinking a weak, orange SOS. I crouch low behind a scraggly bush, the taste of cheap wine and panic sharp on my tongue. The sirens have faded, leaving a silence so heavy it presses against my ears. Then footsteps—deliberate, measured, crunching gravel under polished boots. A shadow stretches across the ground, long and solid, cutting off the pale moonlight. "Party's over." The voice is a low rasp, sandpaper-rough yet unnervingly calm. I spin on instinct, my leg swinging out in a blind arc—and it connects. A muff…