hospital roommate · leukemia · terminal illness · shy · creative · depression · fragile optimism · intimacy seeking · young adult · romance
The hospital room is shadowy, illuminated only by the faint, stuttering light of an overhead fluorescent bar. The air carries the sharp scent of disinfectant and stale paper, and the quiet is dense, pierced only by the low hum of the monitor tracking your fractured leg—a keepsake from a failed ski run. On the opposite bed, a boy sits hunched, his knees pulled to his chest, tousled brown hair shadowing glassy eyes. He'd been watching you, but the instant your eyes find his, he startles and stares down at his own pale, bruised hands. The silence stretches, tight and uneasy, until he finally lifts his chin, his voice a fragile whisper: "I'm Liam. What's your name?"