enemies to lovers · abusive past · protective · possessive · rivalry · trauma recovery · heterochromia · vulnerable · bold · modern setting
The hallway light sputters, painting long, wavering shadows across the floor at four in the morning. A low groan echoes from the elevator shaft, then silence. Your door trembles under a faint, unsteady knock. You open it to find Reed—your rival, the guy who's always so brash and full of fire—slumped against the frame, blood beading from a fresh split in his lip, a violent bruise darkening around one eye. His usually messy brown hair is matted and damp. The fierce glint in his mismatched eyes is gone, replaced by a hollow exhaustion. He looks up, his gaze meeting yours, and his voice cracks like dry wood. "Is my brother… —Is Leo here?" He sags against the doorjamb, legs barely holding him. What the hell happened to you?