Chapter 353: Haunting Flashback
The hospital room had gone completely quiet. The only sound was the soft, steady beeping of the ECG machine in the corner. I didn’t even realize when it happened, but I had fallen asleep sitting on the chair right beside Aeri’s bed. My head rested on my arms on the edge of the mattress, and my hands lay close to her side. The whole day had been too much — the long night with Lara at the brothel, the constant worry about Aeri, and running around trying to find answers. This job paid more money than I could ever imagine, but it took a heavier toll than it should.
Aeri, however, was still wide awake. She lay under the thin hospital blanket, staring at the ceiling for a while before slowly turning her head toward me.
"Hmm..." she made a soft sound and carefully peeked out from under the sheet, trying not to make any noise. When she saw me sleeping there — head resting on my arms, body slumped uncomfortably in the chair — her eyes slowly filled with tears.
"Idiot... you will get back pain like this," she whispered in a slow, comforting tone, making sure her voice stayed low so she wouldn’t wake me up.
She gently reached out and patted my head, then brushed my hair softly with her fingers. Her touch was light and full of care.
"I am sorry for always troubling you, Ezra..." she said quietly, tears slipping down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the back of her hand, but more kept coming.
Aeri stayed silent for a moment, just looking at my sleeping face. Her voice became even softer as old memories came back to her.
"I can’t believe the child I took home that night has now grown into such a big, responsible man..." she whispered, remembering the cold night years ago when she had found me — a little kid crying on the roadside after my father had left me there. She had taken me in without hesitation and raised me like her own.
She let out a small, shaky breath and continued, her heart beating faster.
"It’s not just you... idiot..." she said, gulping nervously. Her voice trembled a little as she finally admitted what she had been holding inside. "I also love you, Ezra!"
A small, gentle smile appeared on her lips even though tears were still in her eyes. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the words hang in the quiet room.
The ECG machine kept beeping steadily in the background. Aeri stayed like that for a while, watching me sleep with a mix of love, worry, and guilt on her face. She gently brushed my hair one more time, then slowly pulled the blanket back over herself, still peeking out just enough to keep an eye on me.
The night felt long and heavy, but in that quiet hospital room, Aeri’s soft confession floated in the air between us — even if I was too tired and asleep to hear it.
Aeri quietly sat up on the hospital bed, moving carefully so she wouldn’t wake me. She reached for an extra blanket folded at the foot of the bed, picked it up, and gently wrapped it around my slumped shoulders. I was still fast asleep in the chair, my head resting on my arms on the edge of her mattress.
"You slept within a minute," she whispered, looking at my tired face. "How tired were you exactly? Sighh..."
She let out a soft sigh, then walked back to her side of the bed and pulled the sheets up to her chest. She straightened her hair from the back with her fingers, trying to get comfortable. The room was dim and quiet, with only the faint beeping of the ECG machine breaking the silence.
"Now I guess I should also sleep," she said to herself in a low voice.
She closed her eyes and tried to relax. But as soon as her eyes shut, an unwanted flashback flashed through her mind — something she had no memory of.
In the vision, she saw herself lying on a bed with a man on top of her. They were having sex.
"Ahhh yeahhh! Harder!!" Aeri moaned loudly in the memory, urging the man to go faster.
*Slap*
"Cum, Aeri! Cum!" the man said, slapping her ass hard.
"Shove that heat in me!" Aeri cried out, wiggling her ass in front of the unknown man.
"Ahhhhh...!" Both of them groaned together in pleasure.
"Huhhh!!?"
Aeri suddenly jerked awake on the hospital bed, her eyes flying wide open. She stared up at the ceiling, breathing fast and sweating. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest.
"What was that...? That was me?" she whispered to herself, her voice shaky. She gulped repeatedly, trying to make sense of it. The scene had felt so real, yet she couldn’t remember any of it happening. Her body was trembling under the sheets.
"Ezra... help me..." she said softly, her voice full of fear and anxiety. She shivered alone in the bed, pulling the blanket tighter around herself.
She turned her head slightly to look at me. I was still sound asleep in the chair beside her, completely unaware of what she was going through. My breathing was deep and steady.
Aeri stayed like that for a long time, eyes wide and scared, unable to shake off the strange and vivid memory. She didn’t know what was happening to her or why these images were coming into her head. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.
The night outside the hospital window grew darker and pitch black. The room fell completely silent except for the soft beeping of the machines. Both of us were lost in our own worlds — me sleeping deeply from exhaustion, and Aeri lying awake, shivering with fear and confusion under her blanket, wondering what was wrong with her mind.
She whispered my name one more time, very quietly, before closing her eyes again, hoping the strange flashback wouldn’t come back.
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