Chapter 4
Mom dragged me into the car forcibly.
Sunny tried to follow, but Dad stopped it with his foot. It whimpered, pawing at the car door until the car started moving.
When we arrived, Alex was pacing anxiously at the hospital entrance. The moment he spotted me, he rushed over. "Emily, thank God you're here. Something happened to a friend.
"They need blood, fast."
I stared at his soft, caring expression, and my stomach twisted so hard that I thought I might throw up.
Only minutes ago, I'd seen him all over Sophia in passion, and now he was standing here acting like nothing was wrong.
Fighting the urge to throw up, I asked flatly, "What's wrong with your friend?"
Beside us, Ben was sweating bullets, looking totally stressed.
"Saving them is what matters right now. Give the blood. We'll talk about the rest later," Mom, her eyes red, kept urging me to hurry. Dad was pacing in circles anxiously.
They quickly pushed me onto the hospital bed. The needle pierced my arm, and my blood slowly flowed out of me.
I turned my head to the side, quietly watching the bright red liquid fill the blood bag.
After what felt like forever, the nurse suddenly lowered her voice and whispered to Alex, "You need to be careful with her in bed. She's already hurt herself. Be gentle, okay?"
I felt a sudden jolt run through my whole body.
The man I loved most and my own sister didn't even wait for the ceremony to finish before stabbing me in the back again.
And here I was, stuck in a hospital bed, giving her my blood, basically giving away the last bit of dignity I had left.
I couldn't help but let out a silent, bitter laugh, my lips twisting in self-mockery.
After the blood transfusion, they took me back to the hotel.
But when I stepped into the lobby, Sunny wasn't there to run up and greet me like it always did.
I suddenly felt a strong sense of unease, for reasons I couldn't explain.
"Have you seen Sunny?" I grabbed one of Alex's friends, urgency in my voice.
He looked surprised for a second, then grinned. "That dog? It's already become dead meat."
I froze on the spot. "I know you guys love messing with people. I don't mind if you laugh at me behind my back. I let it slide. But don't mess with Sunny. It's everything to me."
But the guy burst out laughing, like I'd said something absolutely ridiculous.
"Think I'm kidding with you, huh?" he said, still cracking up. "Come on, it's a dog. Why are you so worked up?"
Alex came over and grabbed my arm, whispering, "They didn't mean it. I'll buy you another one."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw people at the table still enjoying the dishes as if nothing had happened.
Everything went black, and my body gave out. I collapsed right there.
Alex rushed over, scooped me up, and bolted for the hospital.
The nurse at the front desk flipped through my file, then looked at him, puzzled.
"Is Ms. Turner here for a follow-up?" she asked.
Alex froze for a second. "Follow-up for what?" he asked.
The nurse looked up. "She had eye surgery last week. She should be able to see by now."