章 17: Chapter 19

Alexithymia

The inability to express your feelings.

I woke up feeling strange. I wasn't sure why I felt weird, I couldn't name what felt so out of place. Regardless, I woke up in a hospital room, relatively painless asides from my stiff body.

I carefully sat up, looking around the room for a clue as to why I was here. I heard murmuring outside my door before the handle turned and a figure stepped inside.

It was Aurelius who stepped inside, carrying a coffee cup. He didn't seem to notice me sitting up in the bed as he ran a hand through his inky hair and rubbed the back of his neck tiredly.

He had a dark stubble on his face that looked days old and shadows under his eyes that were dark enough to look like bruises.

He finally looked up, his pale blue eyes wide as they made contact with my brown ones. He let out a whoosh or air before walking towards me.

"You're up," he stated.

"Why am I here? What happened?" I asked. My voice was a little rough.