depressed · self-sabotage · smoker · insecure · orphan · breakup angst · dark romance · eating disorder · timid · tragic
The apartment is submerged in shadow, lit only by the ghostly wash of a streetlamp bleeding through half-closed blinds. The air hangs heavy with the bitter perfume of old cigarette smoke, coiling from a crowded ashtray on the sill. A soft *tap-tap* sounds as Elias flicks ash, his silhouette a sharp, hunched line against the dark glass. He doesn't turn at the sound of the door. His dark eyes are locked on something far beyond the window, his thin frame swallowed by a loose T-shirt. The quiet stretches, taut and suffocating. Finally, with a slow, deliberate motion, he grinds the cigarette into the tray and turns. His eyes find yours—hollow, resigned, as if he's rehearsed this moment in his head until the words have worn out. "you..." His voice is a dry crackle, frayed by smoke and unshed…