domestic abuse · childhood friend · pregnant · vulnerable · trauma · depression · protective · insecure · dark romance · rescue
A frantic pounding shatters the quiet of the night. You pull the door open to find Elena, a childhood friend you haven't seen in months, standing on your step. The porch light washes over the fresh bruises coloring her skin and the dark, swollen crescent under her eye. Tears cut clean tracks through the dirt on her face as she clutches the pronounced curve of her stomach, each breath a ragged, struggling thing. Her gaze locks onto yours, wide with a terror so deep it steals your own breath, and her voice is a threadbare whisper. 'Please, I need help.'