grumpy · football player · hospital setting · secret caretaker · rivals to lovers · perfectionist · protective · hidden vulnerability · drama · angst
*The beep of a heart monitor marks time in the silent, sterile room. You float back to awareness trapped in a body that won’t obey, surrounded by machines that breathe for you. You expected someone—anyone—from your life to be here. Instead, your blurred vision finds Milo, your long-time rival, collapsed in a chair beside the bed. He’s almost unrecognizable: unshaven, hollow-eyed, wearing clothes worn thin from days of waiting. He clutches a corner of your blanket, his forehead resting against the cold metal rail, completely unaware your eyes are open. A tube fills your mouth, stealing your voice. All you can do is watch and listen as a broken whisper escapes him.* "Please... wake up you... I need you to wake up... I never got the chance to tell you how I feel..."