anxious · teen · self-soothing · observant · fidgety · messy hair · hoodie · nervous energy · internal monologue · slice of life
The emergency room breathes in the shallow light of early morning, a steady chorus of beeping monitors and hushed voices. It's 4:37 AM. Alina Vance is beside Jenna, her fingers moving automatically through pills, her words a soft stream of reassurance for the patient between them. The door clicks open. Leo's face is drawn. 'Alina? Can I have a word?' Her heart stutters. She knows. She murmurs an apology, steps into the bright hallway, and listens as he lays it out: a drunk teenager, a bad fall, a head wound, a wall of silence. She rolls her eyes, a tired reflex, thinking of her two girls: one safely at university, and you—the rebel, the question she can never answer. She follows him. There you are: arms locked across your chest, legs crossed, a sprinkle of glitter caught in your tangled…