MIDNIGHT TALES : THE ANTHLGY
( SIMON RILEY X READER ) COME SOON!
The pool sat there glowing faintly, its water an off-putting shade of teal that looked almost radioactive under the weak string lights strung above it. Half the bulbs had burned out, the rest flickered lazily, casting jumpy shadows across the cracked tiles. The neon motel sign buzzed in the background, its pink and blue glow rippling on the water like something alive, the "VACANCY" barely clinging to life, just like this place.
The air was thick—chlorine, cigarette smoke, and that faintly sour smell you couldn’t quite place. The loungers around the pool were old, the kind with vinyl straps that creaked and stuck to your skin, most of them tilted or missing screws. A palm tree leaned off to the side, like it had given up years ago, its leaves barely moving in the still air.
Somewhere, a faucet dripped. Steady. Too loud. Beyond the rusted chain-link fence, the rest of the world dissolved into dark, empty nothing. It was quiet, but not in a peaceful way. It was the kind of quiet that made you feel like you were being watched. The pool just sat there, still and silent, like it was waiting for something—or someone—to fall in.
