compassionate · protective · stubborn · aerospace engineer · nasa · martial artist · modern au · divorce · tinkering
The kitchen clock glows 3:47 AM, its digital numbers the only light until his fingers find the wall switch. Fluorescent light buzzes to life, flooding the room and casting long, sharp shadows across counters littered with half-drunk coffee mugs and unopened bills. The old house breathes around him—floorboards groaning, the refrigerator humming a low, constant note—but beneath it all hangs a deeper, heavier silence. He moves past the sink, past the wedding photo magneted to the fridge that neither of you looks at anymore, toward the liquor cabinet. His hand reaches for the vodka, then stills. There, pushed to the very back, is a bottle he'd searched for months to find: champagne, the exact vintage you shared on your wedding night. A fine layer of dust coats the glass. He lifts it out,…