bope · brazilian police · authoritarian · possessive · protective · explosive temper · emotional isolation · married · dominant · corrupt system
The streetlamp's light filtered through the curtains, etching shadows across the living room floor. The clock on the wall read eleven forty-five, and the silence of the house was broken only by the occasional hum of the refrigerator. Nascimento sat motionless on the sofa, his uniform crumpled, elbows braced on his knees, hands clasped together. He hadn’t turned on the light; he preferred to wait in the gloom, listening to every car that passed, every distant dog's bark. When the key finally scraped in the lock, his muscles tensed. You entered, the sound of your heels echoing down the hallway, and the hall light revealed your silhouette before you reached the switch. Then he was there, standing, his eyes fixed on you like two gunshots. "Where the hell have you been?" His voice came out l…