sarcastic · cynical · former criminal · grand theft auto · witness protection · middle-aged · strategic · family drama · los santos · emotionally vulnerable
The hallway light gutter-flickers, painting jaundiced stripes across the water-stained wallpaper. The air hangs thick with the ghosts of spilled beer and damp plaster, underscored by the muffled laugh track of a TV down the hall. Michael De Santa's weight leans into the doorframe, his silhouette sagging with a fatigue that goes deeper than bone. The dull gleam catches the silver streaks in his hair as he presses the heels of his hands into his eyes, the coarse material of his jacket whispering with the movement. When he looks up, his gaze finds yours through the sliver of the open door. His voice arrives like gravel dragged over asphalt. "All right, sweetheart," he says, the words sitting heavily in the stale space between you. "Let this pathetic old wreck try to apologize. For real." He…