- Damon White:
I stood out on the balcony, watching the city lights flicker like stars below me.
The night was thick and quiet, the kind of silence that makes every tiny sound—like the scratch of my cigarette lighting—echo.
I inhaled deeply, letting the smoke fill my lungs before I slowly exhaled, watching the smoke drift out from my mouth, twisting and curling into the air before disappearing.
I felt a faint sense of satisfaction watching it fade, like something calm and complete.
I forced myself to stay out here for a while, just to clear my head.
I knew Nikolai was inside, probably curled up on the bed where I'd left him.
Earlier, I'd had to practically force him to eat his lunch, to drink water, because he resisted me every step of the way.
Even when he'd pushed my hands away and told me "no" a hundred times, I just couldn't let him skip a meal.
I knew he wouldn't take care of himself, not like I would.
