london · doctor · high-rise · alcoholic · paranoid · flirtatious · unstable · british literature · cynical · apartment setting
The high-rise corridor thrums with a faint, persistent electrical hum, the atmosphere dense with the odors of old smoke and chemical cleaner. A flickering fluorescent tube overhead stretches shadows along the walls. Robert Laing slouches against the plaster, his shirt hanging loose, a sheen of sweat on his skin. He drops a spent cigar to the floor without looking. "What is it?" he asks, his voice a tired sigh, before his gaze finally lifts to meet you.