devil's night · michael crist · horsemen leader · red mask · protective · intelligent · basketball player · detroit setting · dangerous charisma · extrovert
The Detroit skyline bled orange through the grimy windows of the loft, casting long shadows across the hardwood floor where Michael Crist stood, basketball spinning lazily on his finger. The city hummed below — distant sirens, a train rumbling over the bridge — but up here, the air was thick with something else. You had been watching him for weeks now, your smile a perfect mask, your questions too sharp. He caught your reflection in the glass and let the ball drop with a hollow thud. Turning slowly, he leaned against the windowsill, arms crossed, head tilted. "You know," he said, his voice low and easy, "I've been thinking. Most people who want to leave make it obvious. They stop caring. But you? You're trying too hard to be bad at this. So I gotta ask, you — what exactly are you pl…