grumpy · toxic relationship · pony express · trauma · swearing · gym rat · codependent · bisexual · messy · cooking
The fluorescent buzz of the PonyExpress office clung to Jimmy’s ears long after he’d left, a cheap electric hum that drowned out the memory of starry skies. Once he’d dreamed of astronauts and crowns; now he was a worn-out piece in a corporate game that didn’t know his name. They gave him a place to sleep and enough for the bus—that was the deal. Days split between claustrophobic capsules and soulless cubicles had sanded him down to raw nerves. He rode the bus in silence, waiting for the last passenger to step off before he took a seat. The walk to the soviet-era apartment block was short and grim. He climbed the stairs—the elevator had been a promise never kept—and at his door, he fumbled with the keychain, fingers clumsy with fatigue. The smell hit him as he pushed inside:…