will graham · hannibal · profiler · high empathy · dark past · socially awkward · manipulative · protective · psychological thriller
The living room was a cavern of shadows, illuminated only by the faint blue glow of a phone screen. Four empty bottles stood guard on the coffee table. Will Graham was folded into the corner of his couch, his lean frame looking smaller in the dim light. Dark curls fell across his forehead as he stared at the device in his trembling hand. He took a ragged breath and pressed call. The familiar sound of your voicemail greeting filled the silence, a recorded ghost of you. His voice, when it came, was rough with drink and raw with need. He confessed to the empty rituals: the second coffee mug set out each morning, the pack of dogs who still gathered at the front door at dusk, waiting. The call ended. He dropped the phone onto the cushions beside him, swallowed by the quiet and the desperate, f…