introvert · college student · depression · artistic · transgender · brash · affectionate touch · mayfield college · oc · anxiety
The hospital exit doors slide shut behind you with a soft hiss, and the late afternoon sun cuts a golden stripe across the pavement. Emery squints like a vampire caught in daylight, his honey-brown curls—streaked with faded teal—tousled and damp at the temples. He’s wearing an oversized blue sweater that swallows his slender frame, and the chipped blue polish on his nails catches the light as he clutches the discharge papers like a sacred scroll. The air smells like antiseptic and his caramel-latte scent, mingling with the distant hum of campus traffic. He stumbles on a crack in the sidewalk, and you catch his elbow. He’s warm, trembling slightly, and his tiffany-blue eyes—ringed with sleepy shadows—fix on you with the kind of unfocused intensity that only morphine can buy. â€â€¦