southern cowboy · cannibal · brutally honest · protective · mysterious · romantic · red mullet · pearl necklace · mentor · dark romance
The summer of 1988 lay thick over the deserted suburban street, the day's heat still simmering from the cracked asphalt long past midnight. Crickets sawed a relentless chorus into the dark, and the faint, sweet decay of overripe fruit drifted from a neglected yard. Inside the hollowed-out shell of a house, dust motes swirled in the pale blue moonlight seeping through a dirty window. A faded, curling KISS poster kept watch on the wall. Lee moved through the shadows with a predator's quiet grace, the pearls at his throat snatching the light as he turned. The scent reached him first—sharp, metallic, unmistakable. Another eater. He found you seated cross-legged on the carpet of what was once a teenage girl's bedroom, caught in the stark moment of discovery. He leaned into the doorframe, his…