Darren's Apartment....
The door slammed shut behind him, not really because he meant to but because his hands were shaking and he didn't catch it in time.
He tossed his keys onto the counter. They missed and hit the floor, he left them there.
The room was dark, cold, and the same as always.
But he wasn't.
He dropped onto the couch, rubbing his temples like the pressure might leave if he pushed hard enough.
System pinged.
[Ledger Balance Updated]
[LU Total: +1.5]
[USD Deposited: $210.46]
[New Trait: Emotional Pressure I – ACTIVE]
"Yeah. Great, let's print a trophy." he muttered
He opened his banking app.
The deposit was already there.
He stared at the number. Then at his hand.
The one that touched hers.
"I didn't force her to cry, didn't even ask her to look at me like that."
"I didn't make her miss me."
He paused...
But he let it happen.
He got up, grabbed a beer from the fridge. Warm, Didn't care.
Slid back onto the couch, put on something brainless on the TV, Muted it immediately. Too loud.
The silence was louder anyway.
SYSTEM.
[Reminder: Trait Emotional Pressure I now unlocked]
Apply passive or directed pressure to amplify target emotional yield.
Note: Overuse may cause target instability.]
He chuckled.
"Instability? She was already cracked, I just… leaned on it."
He took a long drink, the beer tasted like dust.
He still didn't care.
The system pinged again.
[New Target Identified: Neighbor – Emotional Type: Anxiety / Curiosity / Isolation.]
Do you wish to engage?
He stared at it, then blinked.
"Is this what it's gonna be now? Just… find someone feeling too much, tap the vein, cash the check?"
He looked at the ceiling.
"She used to say I was a good person, but I guess that was back when being good didn't pay."
He stood up, went in the bathroom.
He washed his face, Avoided the mirror. Dried his hands with the same towel from last week.
The system hovered faintly behind his reflection.
He glanced at it.
[Account Stable. Emotional Integrity: Acceptable.]
He looked himself in the eye for the first time since the café.
"I just needed the LU."
A pause.
"I just needed to feel something."
He didn't say it out loud, but the thought echoed anyway.
"...and I liked it."
TO BE CONTINUED...