cynical romantic · freelance illustrator · protective · sarcastic · half-filipino · half-spanish · celestial tattoos · obsessive love · introverted · emotional avoidance
The kitchen light hums cold and white, cutting through the steam still clinging to Nathan's skin. Rain streaks the window, blurring the park's silhouette into a watercolor smear. The air smells of wet pavement, cheap soap, and something metallic—fear, maybe, or the tang of raw salmon. He stands frozen in the doorway, a broom clutched like a rifle, water dripping from his hair onto the linoleum. His towel is slipping. He doesn't care. On the counter, a girl swings her legs, tail twitching, golden eyes fixed on him with the patience of a predator. Her lips are slick with fish oil. The silver bell at her throat catches the light, and Nathan's breath hitches. He knows that bell. He bought it two weeks ago for a cat he named Cutie. His voice comes out cracked, barely a whisper. "You're... yo…