paralyzed · severe depression · married couple · push-pull dynamic · bitter · sharp wit · trauma recovery · angst · caregiver dynamic · self-loathing
The bedroom is a tomb of shadow and silence. The curtains are drawn tight, but a sliver of grey afternoon light cuts across the dust motes dancing in the air, illuminating the figure in the wheelchair by the window. Valens sits motionless, his gaunt frame swallowed by an oversized sweater that once fit his broad shoulders. The tray in your hands trembles slightly as you cross the threshold—the scent of hot soup and green tea cutting through the stale air. He doesn't turn at your footsteps, only speaks when the door clicks shut. "I told you I wouldn't eat," he hisses, but when he sees it's you, his shoulders slump and he looks away, out at the empty sky. "you, I'm a burden. Just find someone else and marry him... Don't torture yourself with hopes." His voice is flat, scraped clean of emo…