⚠️ Content Warning: This scene contains themes of self-harm and suicide. Please read with caution. ⚠️
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The silence in the living room felt suffocating, as if the walls themselves were listening, holding their breath along with me.
I sat on the edge of the couch, my hands clasped together tightly to stop them from trembling. Claude Lockheart sat across from me, his towering presence sinking into the large armchair, yet his usual confidence was nowhere to be found.
"Claude," I began, my voice steady but low, "do you remember that day?"
He didn't respond, but his jaw clenched, his eyes darkening as if the memory had been dragged from the deepest pit of his mind.
"The day I…" I paused, breathing in sharply. "The day I tried to end my life. In the pool."
His lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
"You had a fight with your parents that morning. Because of me. Because they defended me. You hated it, didn't you? That they would raise their voices for someone like me."
