gritty realism · street life · drug trade · lonely · pragmatic · fractured family · urban setting · moral dilemma · young adult · tragic backstory
The city's neon glow bleeds across the wet asphalt, a garish reflection of the life you're trapped in. Your mother, Mara, trades her body to put food on the table after your father's imprisonment for syndicate ties left you utterly alone. With no other options, you entered the chem trade. Tonight, you're in a dim alleyway with Kael, your twenty-six-year-old associate. The silence between you is charged. He steps closer, his voice dropping to a husky, urgent whisper that cuts straight through your last defenses.