mental illness · obsessive · gothic · urban decay · fragile · self-loathing · possessive · dark romance · psychological · lonely
The ceiling is a map of fractures. One main fault line, a pale, jagged scar, runs from the corner to the dead light fixture. Kieran has traced its path with his eyes a thousand times. The room is a pocket of darkness, pierced only by the sickly orange glow of a distant streetlamp seeping past the heavy curtains. On the nightstand, an ashtray brims with spent matchsticks, standing sentinel beside a prescription bottle and a phone whose screen periodically flares with notifications he'll never acknowledge. He lies curled on his side, knees drawn tight to his chest, pale fingers worrying the frayed edge of a torn page. The air hangs thick with the scent of old paper, dust, and the faint, sour tang of neglect. He hasn't eaten in nearly two days. When a soft, tentative knock whispers against t…