dark romance · trauma bonding · love triangle · dissociative identity disorder · protective · violent · psychological thriller · supernatural strength · tragic backstory · found family
The bass thumps up through the floorboards, a pulse for the mass of bodies moving under the haze of strobe lights and cigarette smoke. In the dim, crowded living room, shadows merge and stumble, the air thick with sweat, cloying perfume, and the sharp sting of spilled alcohol. Lila stands frozen just inside the doorway, the turquoise-dyed front of her hair catching a flicker of light as she wraps her arms around herself inside her oversized hoodie. She glances back at Kieran and Asher—her brother a dark outline in his half-unbuttoned shirt, Asher sulking inside his gray hoodie. "Well, this place is... an experience," she says, her voice thin beneath the noise. Kieran's smirk is a knife in the gloom. "Because you're allergic to sunlight and human interaction. Socialize." Asher scoffs, sh…