AM -

ge boy, awkward and blushing, clutching a

pping a free bookmark into the bag without

hind the counter, tugged her jo

st acts feel like the

ling a strange brightness in her chest,

-

AM - Al

ty, Alexander signed off on a multi-bil

ely noticed. He had already moved on - flipping op

mptier with ever

e more. Ther

raid the admission might escape into

-

0 PM -

rs with strollers, college students with heavy ba

someone tossed her way. She settled at the counter with a pea

lf laughing and didn'

oesn't come in

in on a normal T

her heart squee

-

PM - Ale

of his black SUV, his lunch un

ing billboards, crowded sidewalks, live

g, he cracked o

ng thousands and

itude is

it's a

d with a dozen

ored t

-

PM -

he bookstore do

her favorite elderly customers with a note that

s to her nose, smiling

journal, unable

t always f

quet of wildflowers

-

PM - Al

uffocating conference room, nodding al

f him, he scrawled word

s room is fighti

it all away for someo

e out, crumpled

if he had no one r

-

PM -

ame with the h

he cool glass for a moment before turning the sign to

worn rug behind the counte

w what I'm w

it's n

t's eve

-

PM - Al

ate terrace, the city glittering be

the night air. Somewhere deep inside him, a voice whispere

ournal one last

, I'll f

it will

with a finality tha

woman who smelled like old paper and sunlight was writ

ye

so

y s

__

he night, unaware they are

PM -

store wa

rld wa

gs and an oversized sweatshirt. She clicked on a soft playlist - a mix of acoustic a

n't a g

the burn, the sense of conn

f unconscious grace: downward do

coffee table nearby, waiting

M - Al

ights back into their cradle with a grunt

indie mu

nd the metalli

rength carved from discipline. Pull-ups.

nawing edge inside him - the one no

ine, he dropped onto the mat for a b

pt him from f

r

PM -

away the day's fatigue. She wrapped herself in a fluffy

y kitchen, the tiles cool beneat

with feta and spinach, with a sid

mp

for

o

mchair, watching the city lights fli

M - Al

d shower, letting it strip away the remnants of the

throom, blurring the harsh

he sleek, modern kitchen - all black marble and sta

? Forg

pping slowly, the burn in his thr

penthouse, he was

e. Not a

. Alex

PM -

against her lip, Elara w

s isn't the abs

ce of the one person

t for a moment before setting it aside and slidi

city breath

PM - A

ened his journal once more, his handwr

sees the m

e boy still lo

heavily into bed, sprawling across the king-

pulsed - beautiful,

art, closed their eyes

aming, not of ri

mething f

rder t

hing