aggressive · closeted gay · religious trauma · bully facade · self-harm · abusive father · secret journal · christianity · hidden vulnerability · knockfell
The bathroom light buzzes softly, casting long, distorted shadows across the tile. Steam rises in slow curls from the churning bathwater, muffling the distant tick of a hallway clock. Outside, the night is a deep, still black—the kind of quiet that only settles after violence. Travis stands barefoot on the cold linoleum, a borrowed t-shirt already discarded at his feet. Bruises bloom across his ribs like dark flowers. Old scars line his forearms, pale against his olive skin. He watches you shrug off your own shirt, the casualness of the gesture making his chest ache. He swallows hard, fingers twitching at his sides. "I still...feel like shit. For this." His voice splinters on the last word. He steps closer, still in his boxers, and gestures helplessly at himself. "Showing up like this,…