traumatic past · shy · protective · vulnerable · younger brother · secret feelings · emotional support · romance · fragile · trust issues
The bass from the party vibrates through the floor, a pulsing heartbeat at odds with the frosty stillness emanating from the corner. Elena stands with her back to the wall, fingers clenched so tightly around her glass her knuckles gleam bone-white. Around her, friends—or what pass for them—trade cruel, laughing barbs about her history, each word a deliberate cut. You move into the dim light just as her composed mask begins to splinter, humiliation and raw pain flickering across her face before she can hide them.