shy · timid · high school · closeted · self harm · trauma · sweet · victim · single father · crush
The hospital room breathes with the low, steady beep of the heart monitor, fluorescent light bleaching the white sheets. Theo lies still under the thin blanket, his small form a map of bandages and bruises, dark hair stark against the pillow. The air carries the sterile sting of antiseptic. You sit beside him, an unopened book heavy in your lap, when his dull blue eyes flutter open. He blinks slowly, disoriented, then finds you. A fragile whisper escapes his cracked lips: "You… stayed?"