Chapter 2
705 Words
When I woke up, I found myself in a hospital bed.
The doctor walked into the room, his face incredibly grave. He hesitated for a long time, clearly weighing his words carefully before he finally spoke, "Miss Vance, things are not looking good with your leg."
I tried to open my mouth, but my throat was so bone-dry that I couldn't make a sound.
"The crush injury combined with deep-tissue frostbite necrosis went on for way too long. At this point, you either need major surgery or an amputation." He handed me some papers, which were clearly the surgical consent forms. "Sign it. The sooner we get you into the OR, the lower the risks."
I stared down at the paperwork, my fingers shaking so violently that I couldn't even pick up the pen.
The doctor added, "Both the surgery and the follow-up rehab are going to cost a fortune. You need to pull the funds together as soon as possible."
Right then, the door swung open, and my brother walked in. His expression barely shifted when he saw that I was conscious.
"Good, you're awake."
Looking at the face I had grown up with my entire life, I suddenly felt like I was looking at a total stranger.
Choking back tears, I said, "David, the doctor said they might have to cut my leg off."
My brother just gave a noncommittal grunt. "Yeah, I figured that was a possibility."
My mind went completely blank. In a blind panic, I grabbed the pillow next to me and threw it at him with every ounce of strength I had left.
I screamed, tears streaming down my face uncontrollably. "You were literally a few steps away from me back then! Why couldn't you just save me first?!"
The pillow hit him softly and thudded to the floor. My brother looked visibly annoyed as he bent down to pick it up.
"Audrey, you are being incredibly selfish. In a crisis like that, I had to prioritize the people who needed help the most. Valerie is an orphan with no family to lean on. I just got to you a little bit later. Can't you show some damn understanding?"
Hearing him say that made my tears fall even faster.
"The doctor said if the rescue team had gotten to me just a little sooner, I would have been completely fine! You did this to me! I'm supposed to compete soon. Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed just to qualify? For ten straight years, I trained every single day until my legs turned to jelly. My whole body is covered in scars, but I never dared to stop. And now it's all over. I can never step on the snow again. You completely ruined my life!"
My brother’s brow furrowed deeply, and he looked at me like I was a toddler throwing a temper tantrum over nothing.
"So you can't go. Valerie still can. Were you really that confident you'd pull off a gold medal anyway? In sports, anyone can make the cut. It doesn't have to be you."
I froze, the words dying in my throat. The air in the room turned to ice for several agonizing minutes. Suddenly, a herd of reporters burst straight into my hospital room. They had obviously been eavesdropping outside for a while, and now they all wore expressions like they had just unmasked a villain.
"Miss Vance, do you resent your brother for prioritizing Miss Valerie Cole during the rescue operation?"
"You've always ranked ahead of Valerie Cole. People literally joke that she's the perennial runner-up. Did you get arrogant and start looking down on your competitor?"
One loaded, razor-sharp question after another came crashing down on me.
I shook my head violently. "No, that's not it! I was clearly closer to the team at the time! First responders are supposed to save the closest person first. That's just common sense!"
My brother cut me off, his voice dropping an octave as he turned to the reporters with a look of utter helplessness.
"I'm so sorry, everyone. My sister is emotionally unstable right now and talking complete nonsense. She's probably just hurting and trying to play the victim for sympathy."
- Writer
