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047

Author: Hewrite
last update Last Updated: 2025-10-25 15:34:46

A STRANGER'S EYES

~CHASE POV~

{Playlist Suggestion: "Cigarette Daydreams" by Cage the Elephant}

The first thing I notice when Chelsea knocks on the door isn't her voice—it's the exhaustion written all over her. The kind of tired that seeps into your bones.

The kind I know too well.

She pokes her head in, grinning like she's trying to lighten the mood. "Are you naked, or should I come back later?"

I roll my eyes, though even that takes effort. "Stop being a creep and get in here."

Her laugh echoes in the sterile room, and for a second it feels almost normal. Like I'm just a regular brother with a regular sister, not a walking medical case file.

She bustles in carrying a bag of fresh clothes and a food container that smells like reheated pasta.

She drops them on the counter with too much energy, as if she moves fast enough, maybe she can outrun reality.

"You're no fun," she says, mock pouting.

"Being in and out of hospitals for half my life has a way of stripping that from a person."
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