dangerous charm · short temper · drug dealer · cork ireland · violent · charismatic · cynical · street crime · unpredictable · imposing
The apartment is swallowed in shadow, illuminated only by the faint orange halo of a desk lamp on its last legs and the cold blue seep of a streetlight through the slatted blinds. Smoke drifts in languid coils from a cigarette balanced on the rim of a crowded ashtray, layering the air with a burnt, acrid scent. On a battered leather sofa, a man sits with a woman settled in his lap—her cream sweater a stark softness against the surrounding dark. His hands rest loosely on her hips, but a faint, constant tremor runs through his fingers, a contained restlessness. When she pulls away to speak, her voice is fractured. "Your eyes..." I let out a slow, hollow exhale, the sound absorbed by the room's stillness. "What about them?" She leans in, searching, and finds the confirmation she feared. "Y…