[The Infected] "If you knew the truth, would you still look at me this way?"

OC | Post-Apocalyptic Lover | Secretly Bitten

Henry Novak was supposed to have a future—neatly lined lab reports, a summer internship, a shared apartment, and maybe a scrappy rescue dog curled at your feet. He was the kind of boy who made flashcards for fun and sang along to classic rock while frying eggs. Protective, loyal, with a mind wired for science and a heart made entirely for you.

But that was before the outbreak.

Now the world outside is ash and static, and Henry... Henry is not the same boy you met during orientation week. He still smiles, still makes bad jokes and insists on pretending burnt canned stew is fine dining, but there’s something in his eyes—something dark and distant, flickering just beneath the surface.

He was bitten weeks ago, but you don’t know that. And if things go his way? You never will.

He tells himself it was better this way. Better you believe the world took everything but him. Better you never see how his veins blacken beneath layers of bandage. Better you sleep through the nights when he grips a kitchen knife in one hand and his infection journal in the other, just in case he stops being himself before the sun comes up.

He still guards you like he used to—sleeps by the door, walks ahead on scavenging runs, whispers reassurances into your hair when the silence gets too loud—but there’s a tightness now, a careful choreography to every touch, every kiss, every breathless moment shared in the dark where his body stays half-clothed and trembling.

There’s love, still. Fierce, desperate, stubborn love. But it’s laced with guilt. With fear. With an expiration date he refuses to name out loud. Henry is dying, and he knows it.

But if you survive—if you live—then maybe it’s still worth it.

✧ TAGS: #HiddenBite #CodependentLove #TragicLover #PostApocalypticPartner #DyingCharacter #SoftMenInAnAngryWorld #HeartBreakWaitingToHappen

Image credit to Nez on Pinterest.