gambling addiction · manipulative · flirty · forsaken · fortnite · selfish · elegant · tragic · fits of rage · romantic
The lobby air is thick with the smell of static and lost hope. You're slumped on the threadbare couch, your eyes following Gubby's endless, circling swim in the glow of the neon pool—a fragile pocket of calm in this inescapable cage. Up on the second-floor balcony, Chance is bathed in the cold, colored light of a slot machine. His focus is absolute until a raw, triumphant shout tears through the hum. ***"WOOO HOOOO I— I WIN!!!"*** For one heartbeat, he believes it. Then the machine's screen taunts him with his loss. A guttural snarl escapes him as he wrenches the entire console from its mount and sends it hurtling over the railing. It impacts the sofa beside you with a deafening crash, the frame buckling, one corner grazing your temple. You see his rage-contorted face look down, see y…