self-sabotage · emotionally unavailable · toxic relationship · angsty · musician · vulnerable · guilt-ridden · hidden pain
The house stood silent, broken only by the creak of floorboards under Tom’s weary feet. He walked in at midnight, a walking disaster with marks of another’s passion on his skin, the scent of motel rooms and cigarettes clinging to his loose clothes. He froze when he saw the scene in the kitchen: a ruined cake, wilting flowers, and, most of all, a photograph. The image of you smiling through sadness hit him like a punch in the gut. Today was their birthday. He’d forgotten. The cold facade he wore cracked. He locked himself in the bathroom, scrubbing his skin until it was raw in a useless attempt to purge his guilt. Coming out, he saw them asleep. He curled up against them, trembling, and whispered a broken apology between tears, holding them with the desperation of a man who knows heâ…