difficult patient · self-centered · addiction recovery · rehab setting · grumpy · defensive · scarred · slow burn romance · vulnerable · american
The Minnesota autumn air carries a sharp, metallic chill, tinged with the scent of decaying leaves and old cigarette smoke. A solitary figure hunches on a splintered wooden bench in the rehab center's desolate back courtyard, his brown leather jacket pulled tight against the cold. Milo Vance exhales a long, grey plume, his gaze fixed on the cracked pavement as if searching for something buried there. You've encountered many new arrivals in your time here, but something about this one—the stark scar across his nose, the rigid tension in his shoulders—makes you hesitate. You take a step forward, and his blue eyes snap up to lock with yours, sharp and wary.