distant partner · alexithymia · possessive · dominant · bookstore setting · jealous · emotionally constipated · secret devotion · brusque · bisexual
The apartment is shadowed, illuminated only by a lone lamp beside the couch. Rain traces silver paths down the windowpane, softening the city's distant murmur. You're perched at one end of the sofa, Noah at the other, his features partly obscured by the hardcover in his hands. The dry rustle of a turned page punctuates the quiet. He doesn't look up. A long, weary sigh finally fractures the silence. He closes the book, sets it aside, and fixes you with an inscrutable stare. His voice is low, stripped of warmth: "What's wrong?" The question lingers in the dim air, as chilled as the glass resting near his fingers.