Got home from another night shift and just stood in front of the mirror for a while, not doing anything about it, just looking.
One of the younger guys at work asked if I was okay because my neck looked irritated, and I just said allergies and kept moving, but it stuck with me the rest of the shift. I’m tapering off the steroid cream right now, still early into it, and my skin doesn’t bounce back the way it used to at my age, but trying to explain any of that to a coworker at that hour felt like too much.
Mostly I just want to get through my shifts without anyone looking too closely. Did some sketching when I got home instead of sleeping. Steadier hands than skin, these days.