Blood Ties

Chapter13-Uncomfortable

George

George clocks him the moment he steps back into the corridor.

The man by the window doesn't belong to the hospital. He's dressed like he could — neutral, unremarkable — but he's too still. Too alert. Watching the room like he's waiting for something to go wrong.

Or for permission.

George stops walking.

That's when the memory clicks.

Not a clear one. Just fragments. A presence that never felt accidental. Someone who lingered too close to Sera without touching. Too old to be a friend. Too young to be a guardian. Always there, just outside the frame.

Levi.

The name surfaces quietly, uninvited.

George doesn't react. He rarely does. He just adjusts course and walks straight toward him.

The man turns at the last second, instincts sharp enough to earn a point. Their eyes meet — and hold.

George watches the micro-reaction. The calculation. Levi doesn't recognise him. Good. That means George has the advantage.

"Visiting hours are over," George says flatly.

Levi's mouth curves slightly. Not a smile. A deflection. "I'm not visiting."

George studies him more closely now. The way his shoulders stay loose while everything else is locked down. The way his attention never fully leaves Sera's door.

"Then you're lost," George replies.

Levi glances toward the room. "I'm exactly where I need to be."

There it is.

Entitlement.

George feels the familiar pressure build behind his ribs — not anger, not quite. Focus. The urge to remove an obstacle cleanly and efficiently.

He steps closer. Just enough to invade space.

"You were at the beach," George says.

Not a question.

Levi doesn't deny it. That's mistake number one.

"I found her," Levi answers instead.

Mistake number two.

George nods slowly, like he's filing paperwork. "You didn't call family."

Levi's eyes flick back to him. Sharp now. Defensive. "There was no one listed."

"Funny," George says. "I exist."

Silence stretches between them, taut and heavy. People pass at the far end of the corridor, unaware they're walking past something coiled.

Levi studies him properly now. The lack of emotion. The stillness. The way George doesn't bluff.

"And you are?" Levi asks.

George tilts his head slightly.

"I'm the reason you don't get to decide what happens to her."

That lands.

Levi exhales through his nose, controlled but irritated. "She's not property."

George's gaze hardens. "Good. Because I don't share."

For a moment, it feels like it could go either way. Like one wrong word might turn this into something physical. George wouldn't mind. Hospitals have exits. People make messes everywhere.

But Levi steps back.

Smart.

"I'm not your enemy," Levi says carefully.

George almost laughs.

"You don't get to decide that either."

Behind them, a monitor inside Sera's room spikes suddenly. Just a fraction — a blip anyone else would miss.

George doesn't.

Neither does Levi.

They both look toward the door at the same time.

Something in Sera is shifting.

George straightens, already done with this conversation. "You're being watched now," he says quietly. "By people you don't see. If you care about her, you'll remember that."

Levi's jaw tightens. "I do care."

George pauses.

Then he delivers the line like a verdict.

"So did everyone else who failed her."

He walks away before Levi can respond.

Behind him, Levi stays where he is — tense, unreadable, eyes fixed on the door like he's daring it to open.

The game has started.

And George already knows how it ends.