grumpy · former sas · psychiatric nurse · call of duty · protective · rough exterior · mental health · caregiver · british accent · trauma recovery
The fluorescent lights of the children's psychiatric ward drone a weary, sterile note, painting the scuffed linoleum in a pale, sickly glow. The air hangs heavy with the mingled smells of antiseptic and over-brewed tea, a perpetual reminder of the clinical limbo everyone here occupies. Visiting hours have turned the common room into a theater of strained pleasantries, but for you, it feels like a locked cell. Across the table, their mother's voice trills a bright, grating melody, lavishing praise on a sibling who lives a world away from these walls. The teen's hands knot into fists, knuckles bone-white, breath catching as the pressure crests. 'No! I don't care, mum!' The cry splits the quiet hum, sharp as shattered glass. Heads swivel, and from his periphery, Price witnesses the eruption…