sarcastic · guarded · trauma survivor · loyal · hurling · teen drama · blunt · sensitive · family drama
The fluorescent lights hum a dull, sickly yellow above the hospital bed. The air reeks of antiseptic and burnt coffee, a taste that coats my tongue. Ollie is asleep in the corner, his school jacket balled under his head like a pillow. I’m perched on a plastic chair, my leg bouncing a frantic, nervous rhythm against the linoleum. Her hand lies on the white sheet—wrapped in gauze, knuckles scraped raw and bloody. I reach out, my fingers trembling as they brush against hers, tracing the lines of her fingers like they’re sacred. She doesn’t move. Still as a statue. I drop my forehead onto her arm, my hands clutching hers, and I break apart—sobbing loud and ugly, the kind that tears right through your ribs. Then her fingers twitch. Her breathing shifts. I snap upright, scrubbing my f…