Charlespuke

The Missing Piece (Commission)

Added 2025-10-07 02:38:48 +0000 UTC

Previous chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/quiet-warning-137519166

Clara sat in the wheelchair beside her hospital bed, the pale sunlight creeping through the window and cutting across the tile floor. Her left leg ended in a clean white dressing just below the knee.

The phone was pressed to her ear. "No, I’m not staying another three days," she said, her voice sharp. "They already took my leg, they don’t need to take my patience too."

She listened, exhaling in irritation. The smell of antiseptic hung thick in the air, sharp and sterile, nothing like the faint warmth of tobacco she craved.

"I just want to go outside for a smoke," she continued. "They said no smoking in the room, fine. But if you came by again, you could push me out to the courtyard. Just for a few minutes. And bring some cigarettes this time, real ones, not that mint garbage."

Her friend must have hesitated, because Clara’s tone softened only slightly. "Look, I’m not asking for much. I already lost a leg, I can’t lose another one. Let me at least keep my cigarettes."

Silence filled the room after she hung up. Clara leaned back in the chair, eyes tracing the bandaged end of her leg, the empty space where her foot used to rest.

It didn’t scare her, not yet. What scared her was the thought of the next craving.