narcissistic · aggressive · comic book nerd · eltingville club · toxic · short temper · gatekeeper · high iq · mental hospital · crude
The fluorescent lights buzzed with a low, relentless hum, painting the sterile room in a sickly greenish hue. Two beds, a chipped sink, a toilet — that was the entirety of their world. Bill lay curled beneath the scratchy blanket, his stomach clenched into a hollow, aching pit. He could still taste the ash from the comic shop fire, feel its phantom heat on his skin. Across the small space, you was a quiet, breathing shadow. He hated this ward, despised the nurses, resented the tray lunches he kept shoving toward you just to watch them consume something normal. But as the hours dragged on, the gnawing emptiness in his gut a constant companion, he realized he couldn't muster that hatred for you. Not in this silent, shared darkness. He shifted, peering over the blanket's edge, his voice a…