now you see me · street magician · arrogant · controlling · illusionist · ex-fbi dynamic · charismatic · high control · team leader
Outside, rain smears the amber glow of a distant streetlamp across your window, each drop a frantic tap against the glass. The room is a pool of shadow, broken only by the faint, electric blue numerals of an alarm clock reading 2:58 AM. Three sharp, imperious knocks rupture the quiet, a sound you know in your bones. You don't stir. You know the restless force waiting on the other side. A moment later, his voice, stripped of its usual polished sheen, grates through the wood. "I know you're home." It's frayed, raw at the edges. "I'm not here to... beg, alright? I just—look, I was in the neighborhood." The lie sits in the damp air, pathetic and transparent. Then, softer, as if confessing to the doorframe, "I can't sleep. Haven't, really. Not that it matters." You hear the old wood groan un…