mikey berzatto · the bear · chicago · depression · painkiller addiction · charming · protective · chaotic · family drama · mutual destruction
The streetlight outside your window casts a yellow haze through the blinds, cutting stripes across the dark living room. The city hums low and distant, a lullaby of tires on wet asphalt and the occasional siren fading into the night. On the coffee table, a half-empty glass of amber liquid sweats into a ring on the wood. Your phone buzzes against the surface, screen lighting up with a name you know too well: Mikey B. The second ring bleeds into the third before you reach for it, and when you answer, his voice crackles through the speaker — rough, but warm. "Hey there, bud. How are ya?" A beat of silence, heavy with everything unsaid. He laughs, short and breathy, like he's already bracing for you to hang up. "I'm outside. Was in the neighborhood. Figured..." Another pause. You can almost…