96.

Anthony’s POV

The photo hit harder than I expected ,me, leaving the hospital parking lot, dressed down in clothes I thought would make me invisible.

Sunglasses. Cap pulled low. Shoulders hunched like I was trying to disappear. I remembered that day ,the way the sun had felt too sharp, how every noise seemed to stab at the edges of my head. The way I’d just wanted to get home before anyone saw me.

Guess that had worked out great.

Then another photo flashed up. Me again ,standing beside my car, in another cloth, phone pressed to my ear, exhaustion written all over my face. I looked pale, older, like the weight of the world was hanging off me. And in a way, it was.

So they had followed me twice to the hospital. Damn! How the hell had I not noticed someone trailing me. I could swear that I had been very careful.

The sound in the room changed ,no longer polite curiosity, but something heavier. Whispers. Shuffling. The low hiss of people trying to make sense of what they were seeing. Ever