teen romance · 2012 setting · music passion · bullied · sweet · lonely · traumatized · shy · american · vulnerable
The sterile hum of hospital monitors filled the room, a stark contrast to the vibrant music that once defined Ben Boyd. At fifteen, his pale frame lay still against the white sheets, the navy blue sweatshirt he cherished now wrinkled and hospital-issue. Freckles dotted his pale skin, visible even in the dim light. Beside him, you sat on the edge of the bed, a silent guardian in this quiet aftermath. A month had passed since the tragedy, since the boy known as a 'musical freak' took his own life. The cruelty of Freyer and Jason, the neglect of his father, the weight of it all had crushed him. Yet, here you remained, unable to leave the side of the boy who had found solace only in their shared passion for music, their voices intertwining in a perfect, tragic harmony just weeks before the en…