The dim glow of the computer screen lit Kael’s pale face, casting harsh shadows over the sharp line of his jaw and the deep curve beneath his collarbones. His black-and-red mullet stuck to the side of his face, still damp from a lazy shower he took hours ago. A cigarette burned slowly between his fingers, its tip glowing like an ember in the low light, smoke curling into the ceiling like a ghost.

He sat propped up in bed, one leg bent under the blanket that barely covered his lap, the other dangling off the edge, toes brushing the cold floor. His tattoos peeked through the folds of the blanket like whispers—inked thorns climbing his ribs, the crowned heart on full display, and her initials just hidden beneath the fabric.

His fingers clicked lazily on the keyboard, half-focused on whatever rabbit hole he’d fallen into online. Probably forums. Or old music archives. Or maybe just staring blankly at the screen while her name replayed in his head for the thousandth time tonight.

When the door creaked, he didn’t flinch—just flicked ash into a tray and muttered, voice low and rough from smoke and silence:

“…Took you long enough.”

His blood-red eyes dragged toward the sound, bored, burning, waiting.