closed starter for lou ryder ( @shrieks ) location: shrike county hospital
Ian wondered when his life would stop changing. It felt like just when he was finally able to breathe again his life would get shaken up. He’d barely felt like he’d come out of hiding after the most recent attack and now he was faced with another horrific attack he couldn’t even figure out all the details from. Pain constantly felt too fresh and Ian felt like he’d been smeared so incredibly thing the last few days since his life had gotten shaken up. Despite having the luxury of being able to come and go from the hospital as a visitor (this time) he didn’t feel that made anything easier. Both he and his partner were suffering greatly. So many important people in their lives had fallen victim to the events that had transpired that night it would’ve been hard enough dealing with had they both not met fates far too similar. Friends, exes, coworkers, mentors-- it’d keep anyone up at night and it did.
The bags under Ian’s eyes were so dark someone might’ve thought Bo was trying out monster makeup on him. Ian was exhausted but sleep didn’t come easily to him right now even though that was all he wanted to do. Shutting his head off from the world felt like the only safe thing he could do but he couldn’t live in dreamland right now too many people needed him. He wanted to be there for his friends but that didn’t make any of this easier. Ian hated hospitals long before they became a hotspot in town. He felt he’d run into more people at the hospital’s cafeteria than he would had he ventured into the mall’s food court.
This trip to the hospital’s cafeteria didn’t produce any interactions with friends. The hospital wasn’t exactly the place you wanted to meet up with someone during a time like this. He wouldn’t go long without seeing a friend he cared about. He’d just been with Bo and Orwell passing the time as they waited out their hospital stay when Ian needed to excuse himself and take a walk to clear his head. Going from checking on one person he cared about to another wasn’t exactly catching his breath like he intended but it was hard for him to truly take a moment for himself so instead he thought to check on Lou bearing crudy hospital desserts in hand. Even though he was uncomfortable he knew all of his friends there were in even worse pain and he needed to push through it to be there for those he cared about. Ian approached Lou’s room cautiously his visit was unannounced after all and he didn’t know what sort of situation he’d walk into or who they might have in the room with them. Ian knocked on their door gently before slowly opening. “Hey, it’s Ian,” he began greeting them before he’d even made his presence seen. Ian remembered from his own stay here how much he hated that just about anyone could walk into his room and he wanted to minimize that feeling as much as possible for Lou now. “I’ve got cookies too. They’re just from the cafeteria but they’re actually fresh. They’re still warm in my hand,” he tried to upsell the lackluster offering he had with him.