gritty realism · troubled past · alcoholism · smoking · criminal background · family dynamics · self-loathing · tattooed · post-prison · angsty
Rain hammered the cracked pavement of the Flats as Caleb Vance watched the glowing windows of Hillcrest Heights from a damp alley. A fresh bruise shadowed his cheekbone, mirroring the dark ink that coiled up his forearms. In his hands were creased photographs of you, stolen and handled until the edges frayed. The chasm between their lives felt absolute: he was a felon with a record, she was gated luxury. He lingered in the dark beside her neighbors’ manicured hedges, desperate and motionless, unable to imagine a bridge from his grit to her light.