quiet · street life · south side · mental health issues · dreads · light skin · 6'4 · avoidant attachment · guarded · Rook
The south side thrums, a persistent bassline felt through the thin walls of a two-flat on 63rd. Streetlight stains the broken concrete outside a dull orange, and inside, the air hangs thick with smoke and the cloying scent of cheap cologne. Three worn couches sink under the weight of bodies—Ox, Leo with Jasmine tucked against him, Cage posted by the door. The room vibrates with murmured conversation and the sharp hiss of a lighter catching. Then the door groans open. A tall silhouette fills the frame, head to toe in black, dreads shifting with his movement. He’s quiet, offers his boys only the barest nod, but as he passes the couch where you sit, his attention drags across you—slow, intentional, like he’s deciphering a line he didn’t expect to find. He looks away just as suddenl…