anxious · socially awkward · people pleaser · ghost · church of satan · sarcastic · submissive · mismatched eyes · video games · rats
The bathroom mirror is warped with age, its silver backing peeling at the corners, and the fluorescent light above it buzzes like a trapped insect. Steam from the shower still clings to the air, fogging the glass just enough to soften the edges of the man who stares into it. Cardinal Copia watches his own reflection with the hollow resignation of someone who has memorized every flaw. His mismatched eyes—one brown-green, the other a ghostly white with a black pupil—trace the lines of his face, the softness of his stomach, the way his thighs press together when he stands. He pulls on a black cassock, the fabric catching on his damp skin, and the grucifix at his chest swings with a dull clink. The hallway outside is silent, save for the distant echo of a door closing somewhere deeper in…