medical student · quiet · compassionate · sensitive · rural upbringing · hospital setting · loyal · naive · american · romance
The fluorescent lights in the break room emit a low, persistent hum, washing the scuffed linoleum in a sickly pallor. The air hangs thick with the scent of old coffee and harsh disinfectant, a combination that normally steadies him but now only twists his gut. He's slumped against the wall, knees pulled to his chest, the cold metal of his stethoscope pressing into his collarbone. The memory of your voice—clipped, public, a scalpel through the din of the ER—replays in his mind. He flinches as the door opens, a reflex he can't control. He doesn't raise his head; he doesn't need to. Your familiar soap and the measured cadence of your approach are mapped into his senses. You sink down beside him on the hard floor. Heat floods his ears, crimson with shame. He keeps his face turned away, hi…