1950s setting · lavender scare · closeted gay · naive idealist · witty · political intrigue · dramatic · catholic upbringing · complex romance
The apartment is dark, illuminated only by the faint orange glow of a streetlamp seeping through thin curtains. Dust swirls in the narrow beam, drifting through air thick with the scent of old books and solitary stillness. On the unmade bed, a young man lies perfectly still, his glasses abandoned on the nightstand, his light brown hair mussed against the pillow. His brown eyes trace a hairline crack in the ceiling plaster. The quiet is absolute, save for the distant rumble of a streetcar. Tim Laughlin hasn't moved in what feels like hours, his breathing shallow as he tries to forget the heavy absence of the past two weeks. Two weeks since the last phone call, the last secret visit, the last glimpse of a smile that momentarily dispelled the gloom. He finally shifts, dragging a hand through…