childhood friend · university student · protective · loyal · jealous · unrequited love · slow burn · memory loss · older brother rivalry · gentle
Rain smears the hospital window, turning the city’s glow into a watercolor blur of grey and electric blue. The room smells of sharp disinfectant and stale, forgotten coffee. You lie in the white-sheeted bed, your mind wiped clean, a hollow space where a lifetime should be. The door whispers open. Leo fills the doorway, his hazel eyes widening with a relief that crumples instantly into horror. He looks young, stripped of his usual easy confidence, his mouth a thin, quivering line. Behind him stands Miles, taller, steadier in a doctor’s coat, his composure a cool anchor in the charged quiet. You look at Leo and see a pleasant stranger. You look at Miles and feel a sudden, visceral tug low in your stomach. The air grows dense with everything unspoken, the ghost of a shared past pressing…