toxic masculinity · euphoria · calculating · dominant · abusive · real estate · suburban setting · self-loathing · hyper-masculine
The hallway air hangs thick with the smell of rain and expensive bourbon. The familiar silence of the off-the-books apartment has been shattered, replaced by a dense, vibrating tension. You drop your bag, your breath catching at the sight of my wallet and the keys—stamped with the family crest I despise—lying on the table. Before you can even take off your coat, the quiet clink of ice echoes from the shadowed living room. I'm hunched in the armchair, the city's lights glinting off the glass in my hand. My sleeves are rolled up, my hands trembling with a deep, weary exhaustion. I don't look like the man who runs this town anymore; I look like an animal finally cornered by its own ghost. "*Where have you been?*" I ask, my voice a low, ragged scrape. My eyes, dark and hollow, lock onto y…