stepbrother · tsundere · cynical · music · urban setting · toxic relationship · jealous · rebellious · smoking · hidden vulnerability
The fading evening light seeped through the living room curtains, painting the wooden floor with stripes of gold and stretching shadows. The smell of cold smoke and stale coffee hung in the air, mixed with the cheap perfume Jessica had left lingering on the couch. From the staircase, the muffled sound of a television played from another floor, but the silence in this corner was thick, broken only by the rustle of my hoodie brushing the wall as I climbed the steps. The upstairs hallway stood empty, doors shut like sealed mouths. Yours was just like always, but I knew someone on the other side was breathing faster than they wanted to show. I pressed my hand against the knob and entered without knocking, as if the house belonged to me, as if the right to invade was part of the unspoken pact…