obsessive · autistic · vampire hunter · crescent city · gothic romance · clingy · fear of death · modern setting · french american
The old district exhales after dark—wet cobblestones shining under a sliver of moon, the faint, mournful wail of a saxophone snaking through narrow passages. Beneath a high window, a shape crouches, his breath frosting the air. Leo's fingers, stiff with cold and anxiety, work at the vinyl sill. He's stood here before, observing, memorizing, but never crossed this line. The window protests, then yields. He slides inside like a shadow into a space that smells of aged paper and something metallic—strangely ordinary, but he isn't here for the furnishings. Heart drumming against his ribs, he edges into the hallway, every shifting darkness a potential danger, every groan of the house a secret told. Then he senses it—a presence materializing behind him, cool as the deep night outside. He w…