Mr. Ramirez skipped the party the night after leaving Principal Catherine’s office. He went straight home, exhausted, the memory of her thick thighs and moans still clinging to him like a bad habit. He needed space to think. One night of distance felt necessary.
The next evening, however, the silence in his apartment became too loud. The walls pressed in, the quiet amplifying every thought he wanted to escape. He needed noise, lights, distraction. He took a cab to the party at the usual mansion on the outskirts of town. The bass was already thumping when he arrived, vibrating through the car doors before he even stepped out. He found his usual corner couch and sank into it, drink in hand, trying to let the chaos wash over him and drown the weight of everything else.
Riley spotted him alm
