In the car speeding away, Anthony glanced at the rearview mirror, a faint smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"That kid's still too naïve. Did you see that?" Anthony said smugly.
In the backseat, Ed sat in the shadows, his face unreadable as he gently wiped the sweat from Grace's forehead, his eyes were full of concern.
"She's okay, Ed. Don't worry."
Ed clutched Grace's hand tightly, holding her to his chest. His voice was hoarse. "I regret everything. What am I supposed to do now? I live in fear every single day."
Anthony's smirk faded. He took a deep breath. "Your condition's flaring up again. You need to get a grip and take your meds. I told you, she's not in critical danger -you are. You're unstable. It's only a matter of time before something happens. And what happened back then... it wasn't your fault."
Even in sleep, Grace felt like she was suffocating, as if vines were wrapping around her, squeezing tighter and tighter.
When she opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness, she finally relaxed. This had to be Ed's place.
She never used to like the dark. But after meeting him, it didn't seem so suffocating anymore.
She touched her stomach. No more pain. Her body felt clean, too-someone had wiped her down.
response. She
Anthony appeared at the doorway, still in his
him to lie down. Ms. Lambert, how
always known Ed struggled
see
him calm down. If you really care about him, promise me something— whatever happens from now
words made
as Ed was still breathing, Anthony could
at him, stunned. He wasn't just talking about protecting Ed-he was warning
as jokes. But had she really
breath caught. "You guys
faintly and removed his glasses, slowly polishing the lenses with a cloth.
not
and deliberate, but somehow, they carried a quiet pressure that made it hard
back onto the bridge of his nose and gave her a pointed look. "You've never asked how Ed and I became
to respect
or were you too afraid to
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