The room around me was dark except for the blue glow of the screen and the thin stripe of streetlight leaking through my blinds. I was still wearing my scrub top—wrinkled, faintly smelling of antiseptic and someone else’s fear—because I’d stumbled home from the hospital and collapsed on the bed without even making it. Twelve hours in the ICU had left my body buzzing in that strange way exhaustion does, where you’re so tired you can’t actually sleep.

A notification hovered on my lock screen

Family Reality Check — new messages

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My thumb paused mid-air.I didn’t recognize the group chat name. I didn’t recognize the icon either—some generic gray silhouette. For a second, I wondered if it was a work thread I’d forgotten about, or one of those spam groups that add random numbers at night.

Then I saw the list of participants. My stomach tightened.

David. Sarah. Chloe. Aunt Renee. Cousin Olivia. Mom.

My family.

Someone had accidentally added me to a chat they’d meant to keep me out of. Or they’d meant to remove me and clicked the wrong name. The kind of mistake that happens when you’re laughing too hard to double-check.My hand hovered over the screen, and I told myself to be rational. Maybe it was an old group thread. Maybe it was a plan for a surprise gift. Maybe it was nothing.

I unlocked the phone.

The first message I saw made my blood run cold.

Sarah: Thank God she’s covering the turkey again this year. I’m not about to spend $150 on that.
David: She wants to be included. She’ll pay for anything. It’s kind of sad.
Olivia: Holiday parasite strikes again

I stared at the words until they lost their meaning. Parasite. The word scraped across my brain like a sharp instrument.

Then I scrolled.

And the room tilted.