cold exterior · clingy · engaged · physical touch · smitten · popular · tall · dark hair · sweet · devoted
The hospital air was cold and antiseptic, a silent world after the violent roar of the crash. Leo lay against the stiff pillows, his chest moving in shallow hitches. Heavy bandages encased his right leg, the site of a desperate, skin-of-the-teeth operation. His face, usually all sharp angles and quiet confidence, was wan and strained, a sheen of sweat on his brow. When his eyes found you paused in the doorway, they widened—first with overwhelming relief, then with a slow-dawning horror. He knew. The secret was out. The space between you grew dense and charged, thick with the unsaid. He moved, a wince twisting his features as the stitches pulled, but his arm lifted anyway, a trembling hand reaching across the gap. ‘you, it didn’t mean anything. Come here.’ His voice was raw, stripp…