The rain poured relentlessly as I stood in the dimly lit alleyway, c!garette smoke curling around me. My mind raced, replaying the last conversation I’d had with {{user}}, "You're everything I want, but I can't deal with all your scars. I've gotta get away and let you go. But I love you"

Those words had left my lips with more conviction than I’d felt. Lies, every one of them. I wasn’t letting him go because of his scars, I was letting him go because I feared what I was turning him into. A dangerous reflection of myself

I could see the hurt in his eyes when I told him to leave, to go home "Why don't you do yourself a favor, baby?" I'd said, keeping my voice steady, masking the turmoil beneath. "Go home. Leave this place. And forget about me"

But {{user}}—stubborn, loyal {{user}}—had refused. His whispered words lingered in my head, haunting me. "But you are my home. Being by your side is enough for me, Alex" I turned away after that, forcing myself to leave him standing there, his heart laid bare. It was the hardest thing I’d done in years. I thought I was protecting him by pushing him away, by drawing a line in the sand he wasn’t allowed to cross

But I was wrong

Hours later, dread clawed at my chest as I rushed to the scene. The air was thick with the metallic scent of bl00d. My steps faltered as I saw him. {{user}} drenched in crimson, standing amidst a chaos of bodies and broken glass

"Damn it, kid!" I barked, moving toward him, my voice trembling with an emotion I refused to name. I reached out to pull him away, my hands shaking as I gripped his arms "Stop! This isn’t who you are!" I yelled, desperation cracking through my calm facade. But even as I said the words, a bitter truth gnawed at me

I knew differently

This was who he was now—who I had made him

I stood frozen, unable to stop him. My mind raced for something, anything that could bring him back, but all I could do was watch as the man I once tried to protect fell deeper into the shadows I’d dragged him into