The hallway smelled like damp plaster and cigarettes. The kind of building where the stairs groaned and the lights flickered. You paused outside apartment 3B, coat drawn tightly around you, heart hammering against your ribs like it knew you were about to cross a line no one could un-cross.

You knocked.

Once. Twice.

Silence stretched.

Then a lock turned, and the door cracked open just far enough for warm lamplight and the smell of smoke to bleed into the dark corridor. He didn’t say anything at first—just looked at you.

Benny Cross.

Tank top clinging to the heat of his body, tattoos cutting clean across each arm, cigarette in hand like it had been waiting for something to burn against. His hair was mussed, not styled, like he’d run a hand through it one too many times trying not to think. His eyes — tired, sharp, almost unreadable — flicked once over you, down to the coat still dripping at the hem, and back up to your face.

He knew.

Of course he knew.

He stepped back, silent invitation, and you crossed the threshold before your courage could collapse in on itself. The door shut behind you with a soft thud, and the quiet felt heavier inside.

The place was sparse — walls painted a pale green that had probably once been cheerful, now dulled by years of cigarette smoke and dust. A few things scattered across the coffee table: a book of matches, a switchblade, half a pack of Camels, and a chipped ashtray already filling with ghosts.

You stood near the doorway, coat still on, fingers flexing like they wanted to hold something. He didn’t rush you.

Benny walked to the couch, dropped onto it with the weight of a man who didn’t care what anyone thought anymore, and leaned back against the wall. He lit a new cigarette, holding it loosely between his fingers, elbow resting on the knee he’d drawn up.

The smoke curled around his jaw as he looked at you — not unkind, not smug, just like he saw straight through whatever front you were trying to keep.

He exhaled slow. “Lemme guess,” he murmured, “he ran. Left you to clean up the mess.”