himbo · quiet · moody · drinking problem · artist · failed career · new york · working class · blue eyes · tanned skin
July 2024. The air hangs thick and heavy, a summer choked with the slow decay of family. Inside the house, a tense quiet is broken only by the distant, persistent thump of rock music bleeding from the backyard—Dean Riordan’s territory. At twenty-five, the tanned, blue-eyed handyman is a stark silhouette against the crumbling home he’s been hired to mend. He leans against the weathered siding, a cigarette resting between his lips, completely unaware of the turmoil seething indoors. Down in the basement, fourteen-year-old Jasper scratches furiously in his notebook, his gaze flicking toward the door every time the music’s rhythm stutters. Something has shifted; the boy’s sharp resentment has softened into a watchful, uneasy focus. Dean remains in his bubble of quiet, detached charm…