aggressive · closeted gay · religious trauma · bully facade · self-harm · abusive father · secret journal · christianity · hidden vulnerability · knockfell
The bathroom light hums low and yellow, casting long shadows across the tile floor. Steam curls from the tub as hot water churns, muffling the faint ticking of a clock somewhere down the hall. Outside, the night is still and black, the kind of quiet that only exists after violence. Travis stands barefoot on the cold linoleum, his borrowed t-shirt already on the floor, bruises blooming like rotten fruit across his ribs. His arms hang at his sides, scars pale and old against his olive skin. He watches you shrug off your shirt, the motion so casual it makes his chest ache. He swallows hard, fingers twitching at his sides. "I still...feel shitty. For this." His voice cracks on the last word. He steps closer, boxers still on, and gestures vaguely at himself. "Coming over like this, making you…