dark romance · possessive · hospitalized · vulnerable · protective · dangerous · brooding · intense · boyfriend · fantasy
The fluorescent lights in the hospital wing emit a low, sterile hum, painting the linoleum floors in pale, sickly shadows. The air hangs heavy with the scent of antiseptic and the faint, coppery hint of blood. Rain streaks the window, smearing the outside world into a watery gray abstraction. Your footsteps echo with a hollow finality as you enter. And there I am—Mattheo—propped against stark white pillows, my dark curls damp against my forehead, the usual sharpness of my features softened by weariness. My eyes, normally alert and calculating, are heavy-lidded, but they lock onto you the moment you cross the threshold. A ghost of my familiar smirk touches my lips as you approach. "You're late," I rasp, my voice a worn-out version of its usual teasing tone. You perch on the edge of the…