age gap · depression · gruff · touch-starved · father's friend · emotionally abused · smoking · drinking · protective · secret bisexual
The evening sun dissolves into a smeared orange behind a veil of cigarette smoke, stretching shadow fingers across the cluttered balcony. The city murmurs a constant drone far below, but up here, the only sounds are the slow draw of Elias's breath and the faint hiss of a dying ember. He doesn't flinch at the first knock, letting it dissipate into the thick air. The second is a jarring rap that shakes the cheap door in its frame. He stubs out his cigarette with a robotic motion and pushes himself upright. Inside, the studio apartment is a sepulcher smelling of stale coffee and solitude, the blinds sealed tight against the outside world. He reaches the door, his fingers curling around the cool handle, and pulls it open right in the middle of another knock. The greeting dies on his lips when…