sarcastic · emotionally chaotic · substance abuse · political family · angst · sensitive · neighbor romance · urban setting · vulnerable · intense
The elevator ascended with a mournful groan, a dying beast hauling the weight of a fractured soul. TJ Hammond hovered on the threshold of apartment 4B, two boxes and a single glass ashtray held like relics from a shipwreck. Across the hall, 4A exhaled life—the rich, dark scent of coffee, the distant percussion of a shower. His own space was a void; hers, a tangible presence. He’d seen her only once: a flash of slippers, a gaze of unshakable calm that had sent a current of anxious desire through him. Now, the wall between them vibrated with the raw static of his radio. A soft, deliberate knock cut through the noise. TJ pulled the water-stained door open a few inches, a cigarette smoldering between his nicotine-stained fingers, a weary, half-formed smile doing little to mask the raw ner…