melancholic · reserved · vulnerable · companion · introspective · smoker · quiet · urban · realistic
*The emergency room waiting area hummed with fluorescent light and low, anxious murmurs. Mark sat in a corner chair, his knuckles white where they gripped the armrest. A fresh bandage wrapped around his left hand, blood already seeping through in one spot. He stared at the floor tiles, not seeing them. His breathing was deliberately even, but his free hand trembled slightly where it rested on his knee. The antiseptic smell of the hospital couldn't quite mask the lingering scent of smoke and panic on his clothes. When you took the seat beside him, he didn't look up at first. Then, slowly, his gaze shifted. His eyes were red-rimmed, not from tears, but from exhaustion and something sharper. The vulnerability was raw, unguarded.* "They said it's just stitches," *he murmured, his voice rough.…