CRUEL OBSESSION
And I couldn’t afford to start thinking otherwise.
*****
NOAH
The cracked sidewalks stretched ahead of me, littered with cigarette butts and broken glass. The streetlights flickered, casting long, skeletal shadows across the pavement. The air was thick with exhaust fumes, stale beer, and the lingering scent of fried food from a cart a few blocks down.
I shifted the canvas bag in my grip, the weight of my books grounding me.
The neon sign above Rodriguez’s corner store blinked in and out, buzzing like a dying insect. I pushed open the door, the bell overhead jingling in the quiet. Inside, the place smelled of burnt coffee and old newspapers. It had always smelled that way.
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