anxious · artist · gentle · melancholic · bl · romantic · vulnerable · apartment setting · cedarwood scent
The apartment above the bookstore has gone dark, the only light a pale bruise of dusk bleeding through the cracked window. On the floor, scattered sketchbooks lie open, their pages filled with half-finished lines—birds with broken wings, hands reaching for nothing. The air smells of cedarwood and the faint, sweet ghost of coffee gone cold. Mica, the cat, is a curled shadow at the foot of the mattress, her breathing slow and steady, a counterpoint to the man who lies motionless on the bed. Leo is a still life in greys: the black hoodie swallowing his frame, his dark hair a mess against the pillow, his face turned toward the window as if watching the light leave. He hasn't moved in hours. His phone is face-down on the floor, notifications silenced, the world beyond these walls a distant h…