Page 141 of Prized Possession

“Take off your damn belt.”

“Oh shit, sorry.”

I’d literally just heard him say that, but clearly my brain isn’t functioning correctly.

We had to agree to hand over all electronic devices, and anything that could be seen as a weapon, or could be used by someone to harm themselves.

Doris opens a large hatch beneath the window. “Slide everything into the hatch.”

Miles grabs Chloe’s bag from her, and I hand over my phone, wallet, and belt. Miles adds his own things into the hatch, as he says, “Done.”

Doris glares at each of us again, though her expression does soften more for Chloe and Miles. She then does a quick double take back to Chloe.

“Turn around.”

When Chloe doesn’t move straight away, Miles gently pushes her to spin around. As soon as her back is to Doris, she shouts for her to stop.

“I’ll need the hair grip.”

Chloe turns around, looking confused. “What?”

Doris rolls her eyes, growing inpatient. “The clip that’s in your hair. I will need to take it.”

Chloe shakes her head. “How the hell can a hair clip be used as a weapon?”

“You’d be amazed by what I’ve seen,” Doris replies.

Before Chloe can reply, Miles reaches up and unclips her hair. “Just hand it over, then we can get in and see Jake.”

At the mention of her brother, Chloe backs down, though I can see she’s not thrilled with Doris’ less than friendly approach. Doris turns back to Miles and slides a clipboard into the hatch.

“Fill in the paperwork as always.”

Miles quickly fills it in, adding both mine and Chloe’s information, so we don’t have to. He slides the clipboard back to Doris, who inspects the paperwork closely. After a few minutes of silence, a loud buzzer sounds and the side gate slowly begins to open.

“Follow the rules, or you’re out. Give Jacob my best, Miles,” she adds, in a much more friendly tone than the stern one she initially used.

Miles blows her a kiss as he practically pushes us through the door.

“Well, she’s a treat,” I grumble, earning a laugh from Miles.

“She’s actually fairly sweet, when you get to know her.”

I’m about to argue when Miles drags us both towards the entrance to the large house, where we’re greeted by a middle aged woman in a nurse uniform. She has a kind smile, and she waves at Miles, calling him over.

“Good to see you again, Miles. How have you been?”

Miles reaches out and shakes her hand, giving her a bright smile back. “Same old, Jane. Thanks for asking. I brought Chloe and Marcus, as discussed. How’s Jake doing?”

Jane smiles at us both, holding her hand out for both Chloe and myself to shake in turn.

“I’m so glad you could both be here. Jacob will be pleased to see you. He’s doing good, if not a little nervous.”

“How’s he getting on with the new nausea medication?” Miles asks, and both Chloe and I look at each other in bewilderment.

It’s very clear Miles has been here a lot, and more than that, he knows enough about Jake’s treatment plan to ask questions about the side effects of his medications.

It fucking obvious Miles has been keeping a lot from me, from us both, and I very much intend on quizzing him about this later. For now, he gets a pass while we visit Jake.

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