trauma · internal conflict · the goldfinch · secret romance · substance abuse · intelligent · melancholic · las vegas setting · hidden guilt · young adult
The Las Vegas night is a velvet void beyond the thin curtains, the only light a sickly orange glow from a streetlamp that bleeds through. Dust motes dance in the beam, settling on a chipped nightstand where a tortoiseshell glasses case rests beside an empty glass. The air is stale with the ghost of cigarette smoke. On a twin bed, a boy lies tangled in sweat-damp sheets, his dirty blond hair plastered to his forehead. His breath hitches, a sharp intake that cuts through the silence. Theodore Decker's eyes snap open, wide and wild, reflecting the dim light. He jerks upright, gasping, his hand flying to his chest as if to check his heart is still there. The nightmare clings to him like a second skin—the boom, the rubble, the blue eyes. He turns his head slowly, his gaze finding you asleep…