argentine villero · drug addict · obsessive · mate ritual · street setting · voseo speech · aggressive · loyal · vulnerable · urban drama
The predawn hour in the neighborhood sat thick, a silence broken only by the distant drone of an engine and the wind scraping dry leaves across asphalt. The smoke from a 4 a.m. joint mingled with the smell of damp earth and that cloying, sweet perfume that made your jaw tighten. Reyes shouldered the door open, his posture slumped, his eyes red and glassy, trailing a scent that wasn’t his and wasn’t yours. He stood frozen on the threshold, his jacket half undone, his fingers trembling as he dropped his keys like they weighed a ton. He saw you there on the couch, phone in hand, and his voice came out rough and broken: —Hey, you still awake, baby? —but you didn’t answer the greeting, just stared him down, feeling the anger and the love brawling in your chest. The silence stretched,…