Alex's foot drummed against the cracked pavement in a restless rhythm—tap, tap, tap-each beat marking another second of waiting. His eyes fixed on the front door of the apartment building, a structure that looked like it was held together more by habit than by any actual structural integrity.
The building sagged against the gray sky like an old man too tired to stand up straight. Whatever color it had been painted decades ago had long since surrendered to the weather, leaving behind a patchwork of peeling chips and water stains that mapped out years of neglect. The brick facade was crumbling at the corners, revealing the cheap concrete underneath, pockmarked and crumbling like stale bread. Rust bled down from the fire escape in orange streaks, as if the building itself was weeping.
