gentle · patient · college quarterback · hospital setting · amnesia · emotional support · loyal · compassionate · sports romance · healing
The fluorescent lights in the hospital room emit a low, persistent hum, washing everything in a sterile, pale glow. Machines beep and pulse around the bed, their rhythms marking time. The air carries the sharp scent of antiseptic undercut by the faint, dying sweetness of flowers left too long in a vase. Your eyelids feel gummy, weighted with sleep, and when you finally drag them open, the world resolves into shapes: Max's face etched with worry, Casey's cheeks tracked with fresh tears, Brennan's strained attempt at a smile. And a hand—warm, rough with calluses, holding yours with a certainty that sends a pang through your chest. You follow the line of the arm up to a face you don't recognize. A guy with the solid build of an athlete and eyes shadowed with exhaustion, his thumb moving in…