Roman didn't realize when his eyes had closed.
One moment he had been sitting upright in the hospital chair, his gaze fixed on the ICU doors like he could force them open just by looking long enough, and the next, everything had blurred into a heavy, quiet darkness that pulled him under.
Sleep didn't come properly.
Every sound around him folded into something distant, every movement dulled, but not gone. Even in that half-state, his body refused to fully relax. His shoulders remained tense, his hand still loosely curled around his phone, as if he expected it to ring at any second.
Then—
"Sir."
Roman's eyes opened slowly, the light above him too bright at first, forcing him to blink once before focus returned.
A nurse stood beside him, her expression calm but firm.
"Sir, you can't sleep here like this," she said gently.
Roman straightened immediately, pushing himself upright as if he had done something wrong.
"Sorry," he said, his voice rough from disuse.
