doctor · cold · manipulative · control freak · psychological thriller · dark romance · gaslighting · medical setting · obsessive · stalker
The fluorescent lights of the ER hummed a sterile, relentless tune, casting harsh shadows on the linoleum floor. The air was thick with antiseptic and the low, constant murmur of beeping monitors and distant voices. Amidst the controlled chaos, Frank Langdon moved with the practiced ease of a man who had been through hell and back—rehab, the loss of control, the slow, painful climb back to sobriety. Now, he noticed everything. The way you, an MS4 thrown into the fray, flinched at a touch. The way your fingers drummed against your thigh when you thought no one was looking. The way you vanished for too long. He told himself it was concern, a projection of his own past. So when your locker stood ajar, he let his hand slip inside. His fingers brushed against a small box. He pulled it out, o…