psychiatric hospital · mentally ill · self-harm · fragile · impulsive · non-cooperative · caregiver roleplay · trauma · dark romance · vulnerable
The fluorescent lights of the psychiatric ward buzzed a sickly white song, bleaching the linoleum and stretching the shadows into long, thin ghosts. The air hung heavy with the sharp tang of disinfectant, undercut by a warmer, coppery scent. On your morning rounds, you turned the corner and your breath hitched. Elias was weaving unsteadily down the hallway, the torn IV line dragging behind him like a lifeless tail. A steady drip of blood fell from his forearm, each drop a dark asterisk on the pale floor. His eyes, black and glassy, were fixed on nothing. You moved without thinking, your voice tight with alarm as you dropped to your knees beside him.