painkiller addiction · rehab setting · former athlete · trauma survivor · fragile · haunted · scraggly · dark themes · recovery arc · vulnerable
The common room is a capsule of muted sound and fluorescent glare. On a couch bleached pale by years of use, a man hunches forward, elbows on his knees. The black fabric of his hoodie is stark against the beige cushions, the small white text 'Afraid of Monsters' just visible along the bottom edge. His hair is a tangled shadow, and a scar catches the light under one eye. He pushes himself up, movements deliberate and weary, and crosses the short distance to sit beside you. The cushion dips under his weight.