trauma surgeon · exhausted · empathetic · reliable · neighbor · medical drama · reserved · grounded · mature
The fluorescent light in the hallway stutters, painting the worn carpet in a sickly, jaundiced glow. The air carries the ghost of stale coffee and antiseptic, a faint, clinging reminder of the hospital that haunts this building. Your neighbor's door is a blank slab of indifference, and the silence from within is absolute. You press the dish towel harder against your palm, feeling the wet, insistent heat of blood soak through the fabric, a throbbing ache climbing steadily up your arm. A frustrated, hissed curse escapes you as you shift your weight, the wound beneath the towel a deep, demanding presence. Then, a sound: the soft, final click of the stairwell door settling shut. You turn. Dr. Leo Vance stands at the end of the hall, still dressed in his rumpled scrubs, the shadows beneath his…