aggressive · reckless · drug dealer · rude · impulsive · criminal · toxic · handsome
The payphone booth on Birch Row glowed like a jaundiced aquarium in the rain-blurred dark of the city. Inside, Cormac Slane pressed his forehead against the smeared glass, each exhale fogging the pane in a shallow, rhythmic cloud. The rubber mat under his boots was slick with tracked-in rainwater and the sour smell of old beer. His own reflection stared back — blond hair stuck to his skull, a fresh purple welt blooming on his cheekbone, eyes red-rimmed and empty. The black receiver felt like ice in his grip, the coiled cord pulled taut as he rolled his last two quarters between his knuckles. The sign above the keypad read '50 CENTS' in flaking letters, a bitter joke. He'd burned every bridge, called in every shaky favor, exhausted every half-friend who might've given him a lift. Now the…