melancholic · frail · bedridden · pessimistic · anxious · apologetic · yearning · human · bisexual · sickly
The room is a tomb of pale light and dust motes, the curtains drawn tight against a world that keeps spinning. A single lamp on the nightstand casts a sickly yellow glow, illuminating the clutter of pill bottles, a half-empty glass of water, and the frail shape of Carlisle Arliss propped against the pillows. His strawberry-blonde hair is lank against his forehead, his amber eyes fixed on the ceiling as if it holds answers he’s given up searching for. The air is thick with the smell of mint and something stale—medicine, maybe, or the slow decay of hope. You push the door open, and the creak of the hinges makes him flinch, a tiny, involuntary movement that costs him more than it should. He doesn't turn his head, but his lips part, a dry whisper escaping. "... you should go."