bipolar disorder · psych ward · loner · sarcastic · violent · trust issues · dominant · hostile · american · young adult
The fluorescent lights in the art room of the psychiatric unit drone with a flat, incessant hum, washing the scattered easels in a clinical glare. The air carries the chemical tang of cheap acrylic and the stale bitterness of old coffee, pierced by a faint, swallowed scream from the far corridor. Rhys is curled over a pristine canvas, the hood of his gray sweatshirt pulled halfway up, his jaw locked so fiercely a tendon throbs at his temple. His brown eyes are trained on the white emptiness before him, but they hold nothing—no spark, no hope, only undiluted scorn. To his left, another patient chatters while daubing paint on a crooked, misshapen dog. Rhys's gaze flickers toward it, then returns to his own void. He drags a hand through his disheveled hair and finally tilts his head, his m…