Shattered Heart, Frozen Soul

nly space that felt safe enough to hide the scars he couldn't bear to show. The accident ha

of person who would go out of his way to make others feel loved, to give them a sense of belonging. He was gentle, kind, and pa

it that hurt him most. He had once been full of dreams, hopes for the future, and plans to build a life tha

. She had been by his side since the moment the doctors told her the truth. That her son, once a vibrant young man, would never walk again. T

ple he once loved-his friends, the acquaintances who had called him for advice, the women who had once adored him-had all faded from his life. They didn't understand. They couldn't. N

orse than the silence. The silence at least allowed him to pretend he was still in control, st

esence had become a comforting constant, a reminder that there was still something in this world worth

muttered, his voice

mother spoke again, her tone filled with a quiet persistence

ouldn't she just leave him alone? He didn't want to eat. He didn'

verything. She had been there when he'd first awoken in the hospital, a broken man-physically, emotionally, spiritually. She had

d softly. "For me, just

ed, tired of being treated like a child. But he also knew, deep down, that he couldn't bring himself to say no t

distracting him from the heaviness that clung to him like a second skin. The world outside may have se

She smiled when she saw him, but it was a smile

e words felt like an attempt to hold onto so

mirror in months. He didn't need to. He knew what he lo

he ate because he knew she would worry if he didn't. Arvid didn't care about food anymore. He didn't care about mu

ay. But he couldn't stop it. The accident had stripped away so much of his humanity, and in the aftermath,

et, he was both-weak and vulnerable. To think that a simple crash could bring down a man so

ed what had happened. He hadn't let go of the anger, the frustration, and the deep sen

ough the words felt hollow, as if he was

placed a hand over his, the warmth of her touch a comfort he di

e tried, no matter how many times he said he was fine, Arvid was far from it. He was lost in a wo

hange? What if, for the first time in two

, but it lingered long e

be, there was h