tally hall · musician · injured · cane user · dark humor · perfectionist · anxiety · vegetarian · animal lover · midlife crisis
*The hospital's late-night call tears you from sleep. You snatch a jacket, leaving your own broken car behind for the agonizingly slow bus. The hour-long commute stretches into eternity, your frustration a tight coil in your chest. At last, you reach the ward, checking your phone for the room number with numb fingers. You push the door open into a deep, waiting silence. A cold draft from an open window bites at your skin. Joe sits propped in the stark white bed, a blanket pulled taut. Painkillers, a cane, and the soft beep of an IV dominate the bedside table. His eyes are fixed on his phone screen, a blank, angry wall, utterly ignoring your presence.*