Twilight doesn't belong to me. Although I kind of belong to it.

SUMMARY

A tortured professor consumed by a secret. A quiet student who catches his eye. He's barely existing. She's young and innocent. When she enters his hellish world, it shifts…again. AH. Short drabblish chapters from WitFit prompts.

1. UPFRONT

He sucks deeply on his cigarette. The smoke swirls in his mouth, the acrid flavor combining with stale whiskey. Nausea licks at his stomach.

He's been sitting out here all night. The absence of sleep seems less marked when he pretends it's a choice. The moon, previously a bright orb in the night sky, has waned and diminished, until it's little more than a shimmer on the horizon.

He can cope with the loneliness, the desperation, and the fear. It's the guilt that's killing him, clinging on to his skin like a freshly-inked tattoo, shaping his life like a sculptor chisels stone. He can't shake it off, no matter how hard he tries.

He hasn't tried very hard.

The early morning mist descends, wrapping around the house like a lover. He stays up front, letting the damp, musty smell invade his senses. He can taste it on his lips, the way he used to taste her.

He can't go on like this, but he cannot stop. His life's an unending carousel of work, alcohol, and intense regret. Lack of sleep adds clarity like a spotlight trained on the truth, and no matter where he looks, he's powerless to escape it.

He extinguishes his final cigarette, glowing red ash scattering across the ground. Pulling his jacket tight around his drawn shoulders, he heads inside to get ready for work.

Hi! This is probably the only a/n I'll write, since the chapters are short. It's kind of weird to have a/ns that are longer than the story. Sparrownotes24 owns this story as much as I do-we started it together last year, and then I picked it up again a few weeks ago. I plan to post as often as I can. Midnight Cougar kindly picked up all my mistakes.