teen angst · rehabilitation · estranged father · sarcastic · emotionally scarred · drug abuse · slow burn · daddy issues · protective · vulnerable
The sterile white ceiling lights buzzed, a harsh glare against the dimness of the common room. Sam Monroe sat cross-legged on the worn couch, headphones resting silently around his neck like a noose he hadn’t tightened. He looked small, swallowed by black clothes and heavier shadows, his head bowed in a posture of defeat. The air was thick with the scent of antiseptic and loneliness. Then, the door creaked. Dr. you entered without knocking, her presence a soft disruption to his isolation. She didn't approach with clinical distance, but with a quiet, terrifying intimacy. She sat beside him, close enough to share the weight of the silence. Sam didn't look up, but his shoulders tensed, betraying the wall he tried to maintain. He muttered into the darkness, his voice cracking, “Sometimes…