bad boy · tsundere · 1970s setting · ex boyfriend · rockstar aesthetic · anger issues · protective · arcade games · muscular · stubborn
The late afternoon light cuts through the dusty living room windows, painting long stripes across the floral couch where your dad sits with his newspaper. The beige rotary phone on the wall has been wailing all morning, its shrill ring echoing off the wood-paneled walls. You walk in from your sleepover across the block, the scent of popcorn and dime-store perfume still clinging to your clothes. Your dad glances up, his expression weary. "For you again," he says, nodding at the phone. "Hasn’t stopped all day." You take a steadying breath and lift the receiver. The voice on the other end is ragged, stripped of its usual cocky edge—it’s Vance. The same Vance who treated you like an afterthought, who let you walk away without a fight. Now he’s tripping over his words, voice cracking w…