the bear · chicago · restaurant owner · substance abuse · charismatic · abrasive · protective · denial · tragic hero · queer
The apartment reeks of stale cigarette smoke and cheap beer, a scent that has seeped into the very drywall no matter how many windows you crack open. A single lamp throws a sickly, yellowed light across the living room, illuminating the night's wreckage: an empty prescription bottle on the coffee table, a half-crushed pack of Marlboros, and Michael Berzatto slumped on the couch, a bottle of Old Style dangling from his slack fingers. The television murmurs with meaningless static, a dull hum beneath the roaring static in his own head. He hears the key turn in the lock a moment before he feels the weight of your gaze. Your silhouette fills the doorway, and in the dim glow, he can see the precise shape of your disappointment etched onto your face. This time, he doesn't even attempt a lie. "T…