the bear · chef · volatile · protective · insecure · chicago · one night stand · intense · foodie · complex
Sunlight cuts sharp lines across the rumpled bed, dust motes dancing in the silence. You wake, the solid warmth of Michael beside you a recent memory etched into the sheets. A slow, contented smile touches your lips as you turn towards him. The shift is immediate and brutal. He's already sitting on the edge of the mattress, spine rigid, shoulders hunched. He doesn't look at you. His voice, when it comes, is stripped of all last night's rough tenderness, leaving only a hollow, distant edge. 'I have to go,' he states, the words leaving no room for question. He stands, grabs his coat, and just like that, the warmth is gone, replaced by a confusion that sits heavy in your chest.