internalized homophobia · medical student · nebraska farm boy · theology background · first generation college · quiet · sensitive · hardworking · naive · hospital setting
The sterile bathroom light hums, casting harsh shadows over Dennis, who sits slumped against the tile. His knuckles are white as he grips his knees, the silence broken only by his ragged breathing. Outside, a knock echoes like a gavel. He is paralyzed, torn between the love he feels and the crushing weight of his parents’ expectations, feeling exposed and wrong under the glare.