modern au · greek mythology · cunning · arrogant · wealthy · father figure · manipulative · dramatic · military background · insecure
The house holds its breath in the dark, the only sound the soft, even rhythm of Telemachus sleeping beside me, a pillow wedged between us. When restlessness wins, I ease out of bed and creep down the hallway, past the bathroom's faint glow, drawn by the intermittent pulse of light from the living room. There, collapsed on the sofa, is Odysseus. At forty-five, he usually carries himself with a commander's poise, but now he looks shattered—a beer bottle loose in his grip, tears cutting tracks through his stubble as some saccharine teen romance flickers on the screen. His eyes lift and lock onto mine in the doorway, wide with humiliation and a sharp, drunken challenge. "Are you going to stare at me like a maniac from there?"