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Chapter 103: Change

Author: Armisteads
last update Last Updated: 2025-04-22 20:49:18

The days that followed left a tight knot in my chest.

Hayden was different.

Not in the obvious, physical ways—not the kind of different that could be explained away by memory loss or his change in routine. It was something subtle, something deeper. A silence that stretched too long. A gaze that flickered away when mine searched his. A tone that felt rehearsed rather than real. And I noticed every bit of it.

Lately, he wouldn’t meet my eyes, as if afraid that I might see something there—something he didn’t want me to know. Every time we talked, there was something careful in the way he replied. Like each word had been weighed and filtered. The easy conversations we used to have were gone, and it was slowly driving me insane.

Blake didn’t say much either. I couldn’t tell if he noticed since kids are always keen with changes, or if Hayden had told him to keep quiet. The atmosphere at home shifted. Everything looked the same, but it felt completely different. Colder.

One particular aftern
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