He stared at his father’s still face, the quiet resolve in his expression masking the storm raging within him.

“Hey, little Pharoah, how are you holding up?”

Nile jolted, his head snapping toward the door as his sister’s voice broke through the silence. Kylie stood there, her figure silhouetted against the harsh fluorescent light of the hallway. He hadn’t even heard her come in.

“Sis? What…” His voice trailed off as she crossed the room and wrapped him in a tight embrace. For a moment, he stiffened, caught off guard. But then he let his arms encircle her, and they clung to each other, their grief spilling out in silent tears.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly as they pulled apart.

“Yeah,” Nile replied, though the weight in his chest told a different story.

Kylie’s eyes, red-rimmed and weary, searched his face. “I spoke with the doctors. They said you chose to leave Dad on life support.”

Nile tensed, stepping around the bed to put distance between them. “What else was I supposed to do, Kylie? Just… pull the plug? He’s still here, even if he can’t wake up.”

Her gaze softened, but he could see the unspoken judgment in her eyes. “I wasn’t saying it was the wrong choice, Nile. I just… I wanted to know why.”

He shook his head, his expression hardening. “What are you even doing here? You disappeared for over a year. No calls, no emails - nothing but one stupid postcard. And now you show up like nothing’s changed?”

“I’m here because Mom and Dad are in the hospital,” she said, her voice steady despite the tears threatening to fall again. “Because I needed to see you.”

Nile’s laugh was sharp and bitter. “Yeah, right. You ‘needed’ to see me after vanishing without a word. Mom wanted you to come home for the holidays. She begged you to come back, but you couldn’t even bother to call.”

“I know,” Kylie whispered, her voice cracking. “I’m sorry.”

“Tell that to them,” Nile snapped, his anger flaring. “Oh wait - you can’t. Mom’s gone.”

The words hit Kylie like a physical blow, and her breath caught in her throat. “Mom…?” she whispered, as if saying the word aloud might somehow change its meaning. Her knees buckled slightly, and she stumbled forward, reaching out to the bedframe for support. Her fingers gripped the metal rail tightly, her knuckles turning white as she fought to steady herself against the sudden wave of grief.

“She didn’t make it through the night,” Nile said flatly, his tone devoid of warmth. “Dad’s all that’s left.”

Kylie’s head snapped up, her wide, tear-filled eyes locking onto Nile’s. Her face, already pale from exhaustion, drained of all remaining color. For a moment, she seemed frozen, her mind grappling with the weight of his words. Then the first tear slipped free, carving a silent path down her cheek.

“No,” she whispered, her voice trembling with denial. “That’s… that’s impossible. She can’t be gone.”

Her hand flew to her mouth as a strangled sob escaped her, her shoulders shaking as the reality of the situation crashed over her like a tidal wave. “I was going to come home,” she choked out, her voice breaking. “I was… I-I thought there was more time. I didn’t think…”

She trailed off, her words dissolving into incoherent gasps as the tears came faster, spilling freely down her face. Her body sagged under the weight of her grief, and she sank into the chair Nile had been occupying moments earlier. The sterile hospital air felt suffocating, pressing against her chest and making it hard to breathe.

Kylie’s hands clutched at her knees as if by grounding herself she could stop the flood of emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Her gaze flicked desperately around the room, landing on the machines, the untouched water cup on the side table, and finally on her father’s still form. “She can’t be gone,” she murmured again, her voice barely audible. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

Her tears came harder then, each sob wracking her frame with a force she couldn’t control. It wasn’t just grief - it was guilt, sharp and relentless, clawing at her insides with every unspoken word, every missed phone call, every holiday she hadn’t come home for.

Nile stood frozen, watching his sister unravel in front of him. His anger faltered, replaced by a gnawing sense of discomfort. He wanted to stay mad, to hold on to the resentment that had fueled him since the day she’d left. But seeing her now, so raw and broken, made it harder to cling to that anger.

Kylie looked up at him through her tears, her face a canvas of anguish and regret. “I didn’t know,” she whispered. “I didn’t know it would be like this. I didn’t mean to…”

Her voice cracked again, and she lowered her head, her shoulders slumping as the words seemed to abandon her entirely.

Nile watched her, his anger slowly ebbing as her grief mirrored his own. For a moment, he wavered, torn between comforting her and leaving the room entirely. The conflict flickered across his face before he turned and walked away.

The soft click of the door closing behind him punctuated the finality of his departure.

“I’m sorry,” Kylie whispered into the empty room, her voice breaking under the weight of her regret.

Charlie, perched on the windowsill, watched the siblings’ exchange with unreadable golden eyes. Her tail flicked once, a silent acknowledgment of the storm of emotions left in their wake.

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Dom stepped off the elevator, the muted hum of its machinery fading into the sterile quiet of the hospital hallway. Her mind was already on Nile and his father, wondering if she’d find him asleep in the chair again, when she nearly collided with someone stepping out of the shadows near the vending machines.

“Kylie?” The name left her lips before her brain fully processed the face in front of her.

Kylie Kinnison stood there, as striking as ever, though the weariness etched into her features and the slight puffiness around her eyes made her look more human, more vulnerable, than Dom had ever seen her. It took Dom a moment to shake off her surprise. The last she’d heard, Kylie was AWOL, her sudden disappearance leaving behind a mess of unanswered questions and wounded relationships.

Dom’s tray of coffee and food from the Lost and Found wobbled precariously in her hands as she stumbled to a halt, doing her best to recover her balance. The tray felt heavier now, the sudden encounter adding an unwelcome tension to the otherwise mundane task of bringing Nile and his dad some semblance of comfort.

“Hey, long time,” Dom said awkwardly, her voice carefully neutral.

Kylie’s expression was hard to read, a tight smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Oh, hi. Yeah. I’ve been busy.”

Dom nodded slowly, unsure of what else to say. She adjusted her grip on the tray, hoping to move past without further incident, but Kylie stepped directly into her path. Her arms crossed, her stance wide, she was clearly not planning to let Dom slip by easily.

“Umm, I’m here to see Nile and his dad,” Dom said carefully, her tone polite but firm. “I want to see how they’re doing.”

Kylie’s head tilted slightly, and Dom didn’t miss the way her eyes narrowed. “Wasn’t Nile with you the night my parents got hurt?”

The accusation, though subtle at first, hit Dom like a jolt. She blinked, stunned into silence for a moment. Kylie’s tone had sharpened, venom creeping into her words as she placed her hands on her hips, making no effort to hide the hostility radiating off her.

“Actually, yeah, he was,” Dom replied, a bit more defensively than she intended. “We’d just come back from a party. What does that matter, anyway?”

Kylie’s expression hardened, and her voice dropped, each word a dagger. “If he hadn’t been with you, then maybe my mother wouldn’t be dead, and my dad wouldn’t be in a coma.”

The words knocked Dom back on her heels, her breath catching in her throat. “Wha - what? That doesn’t even make sense! How could Nile being with me have anything to do with your parents getting hurt?” She shook her head, incredulous. “Kylie, I know you’re hurting right now, but what you’re saying-”

“Don’t patronize me,” Kylie snapped, her voice cutting through Dom’s protest like a blade. “I’ve never liked you, you know that? You’ve always been the one getting my brother into trouble. He’s like some kind of idiot puppy when it comes to you. You ask for something, and he jumps all over himself to deliver.”

Dom’s jaw tightened, her initial shock giving way to a slow-burning anger. She set the tray down on a nearby counter, her movements deliberate, as she took a step closer to Kylie. “Whoa there. I get that you’re upset, and I’m trying to be patient, but Nile is his own person. I don’t control him, and he gets into plenty of trouble without me.”

“Whatever,” Kylie spat, her voice dripping with disdain. “I want you to stay away from him. Got it? He doesn’t need your bad influence in his life right now. So just leave him alone.”

Dom’s hands curled into fists at her sides. She’d been trying to keep calm, trying to give Kylie the benefit of the doubt, but this - this was too far. “Listen, Kylie,” Dom said, her voice steady but dangerously low. “Nile’s a big boy. He doesn’t have to listen to you, and neither do I. If we decide to hang out and see each other, that’s our choice. Not yours. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Kylie’s eyes flashed with fury, and she stepped closer, their faces inches apart now. “No, you listen, Dominique. Nile needs me, so I’m moving back. And if I so much as catch a whiff of you two together, I’ll do something about it, alright? He needs you gone. He needs his big sister to take care of him. Not some delinquent wannabe Gothic slut like you.”

Dom’s breath hitched, her pulse spiking as the insult landed. Her eyes narrowed, and she took a step forward, her voice sharp enough to cut. “You have no idea what Nile needs. You’ve been out of the picture for so long, you don’t know anything about anyone - including yourself if you think for one second you can mess with me. Now back off.”

The moment their shoulders brushed as Dom shoved past her, a faint static shock jolted through both of them. Kylie flinched, her hand flying to her head as she stumbled slightly, her face contorting in surprise and pain. Dom, determined not to give Kylie the satisfaction of seeing her reaction, kept walking, her head held high and her stride purposeful.

Behind her, Kylie’s gaze followed, her silver-highlighted hair falling across her face as she steadied herself against the wall. Her eyes burned with pure hatred, but there was something else there too - a flicker of something unsettled, something she didn’t fully understand. She touched her temple, her fingertips brushing against the lingering static charge as she stared at Dom’s retreating form.

Dom’s breathing was uneven by the time she reached the hospital room, her hands trembling slightly as she pushed open the door. But when she stepped inside, her anger cooled instantly. The room was quiet, almost eerily so, with only the soft beeping of the monitors breaking the silence. Nile’s father lay motionless, his face pale against the sterile white sheets.

Dom set the tray of coffee and food on the nearby table, her earlier fire fading into a deep well of sadness as she looked at him. Slowly, she leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, her lips lingering for a moment before she pulled away.

“Hang in there,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “For Nile. For all of us.”

She lingered for a moment, her gaze heavy with unspoken thoughts, before she turned and left the room. The door clicked shut behind her, leaving the stillness of the hospital room undisturbed.

Kylie stood frozen in the hallway, her back pressed against the cold, sterile wall. Her chest heaved as she struggled to steady her breathing, her hands trembling faintly at her sides. The static shock that had jolted through her when Dom brushed past still lingered, a faint buzzing sensation that seemed to reverberate in her temples and down her spine.

“What the hell was that?” she muttered, her voice barely audible over the hum of the fluorescent lights above.

Her fingers grazed the spot on her arm where their skin had made contact, the faint sting of the charge still prickling her nerves. It wasn’t just the shock itself that unsettled her - it was the sudden, vivid flash of something she couldn’t quite name. For the briefest moment, when the jolt struck, she had felt… something.

The faint buzz in her arm drew her attention again, and she glanced down, her tear-blurred vision catching on the faint red mark where Dom’s hand had brushed against hers. It wasn’t just a shock. It was something else, something she didn’t understand. And it scared her.

“What are you, Dom?” she murmured, her voice cracking with exhaustion and something dangerously close to curiosity. “And what the hell are you hiding?”

Kylie’s gaze drifted toward the door to her father’s room, the quiet hum of the machines inside faintly audible even from here. She wanted to go in, to sit with him, to say something -anything- that might make her feel less hollow. But her feet wouldn’t move. The thought of facing him, of seeing his still, unresponsive form, was too much.

Instead, she leaned back against the wall, her head tilting up to stare at the fluorescent lights above. The tears continued to fall, each one carving a path through the carefully constructed mask she’d worn for so long. And for the first time in years, Kylie let herself feel the weight of everything she’d lost.