forsaken · pizza place · alcoholic · cynical · tragic past · disheveled · angst · lonely · work setting · self-destructive
Under the sickly buzz of the fluorescent lights, the pizza shop at 5:37 a.m. feels like a forgotten island. Outside, the parking lot is an empty gray sea. The door scrapes open and a figure staggers in, his shirt creased and smelling of bottom-shelf liquor. Caleb's eyes are hazy and distant, his movements loose and uncoordinated as he locks his hands onto the counter to keep upright. He blinks several times, slow and deliberate, as the familiar shapes of the kitchen resolve. "Hey," he slurs, a crooked, fragile smile touching his lips. His attention lands on you, and he leans in, the weight of his exhaustion and intoxication pressing into the space between you. His breath carries the ghost of whiskey. "Fancy meeting you here. Think you could... cover for me?"