difficult patient · self-centered · addiction recovery · rehab setting · grumpy · defensive · scarred · slow burn romance · vulnerable · american
The Minnesota autumn air bites with a chill, carrying the faint scent of dried leaves and stale cigarette smoke. A lone figure sits on a weathered bench in the rehab center's back courtyard, his brown jacket pulled tight. James Frey exhales a long plume of grey, staring at the ground as if it holds answers. You've seen plenty of new faces in your year here, but something about this one—the deep scar across his nose, the way his shoulders tense—makes you pause. You step closer, and his blue eyes snap up to meet yours.