Chapter 4
861 Words
When I woke up, nothing had gotten better.
The acrid stench of hospital disinfectant clung to my nose, and I stared blankly up at the ceiling again.
Why was that ugly yellow water stain still there on the ceiling?
It ruined my view.
Alexander brushed a hand over my bandaged wound, his voice chillingly calm.
"She lost the baby too.
"Massive hemorrhage. They had to remove her uterus.
"The doctor said the impact from external force caused traumatic placental abruption..."
His voice started to shake, cracking into a rough, hoarse rasp.
"Amelia, you've become such a stranger. I don't even recognize you anymore."
'Am I the one who changed? It's always been you two who changed.'
I let out a soft, hollow laugh.
"Alexander, you were the one who crashed into her. You killed your own baby."
The words hung in the air, and Alexander's face drained of color in an instant.
He opened his mouth to snap back, but a phone rang to life before he could get a word out.
It was the doctor: the blood bank was out of her rare blood type, and they needed it urgently, or she wouldn't make it.
Alexander went still, his eyes pinning me in place.
I knew exactly what that look meant.
He wanted me to give blood for Isabella .
We shared the same birthday, same blood type. We used to say we were two halves of the same soul.
When I had a miscarriage and almost bled out years ago, it was Isabella who gave me her blood.
She was pale as a sheet after the draw, but she still wrapped her arms around me and whispered, "Amelia, thank god you're okay. I was so scared back there."
She used to be the missing piece that made my whole life fit.
How laughable was it? We'd ended up like this, all over a man.
"I won't do it."
I'd just had a D&C, I was running a fever, I'd already lost too much blood. If I gave more, it would kill me.
"She lost her baby because of you! She even gave you blood before! How can you refuse?"
"I won't."
I ground the word out between my teeth, refusing over and over.
He stared at me for a long moment, then stepped forward, grabbed my arm, and dragged me straight to the transfusion room.
The doctor took one look at my paper-white face and hesitated. "This woman looks far too weak. She's not fit to donate right now."
"Take it from her. Save Isabella first."
The needle bit into my skin, and sharp pain tore tears straight from my eyes.
The blood bag hung from the metal stand, swelling slow and steady as my blood drained out.
My arm went ice-cold, and the edges of my vision started to blur and fade to black.
The open needle mark sat exposed, and the blood had stopped flowing.
Distantly, I heard someone screaming my name, "Amelia, wake up! Can you wake up for me?"
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't pull myself back to consciousness.
They wheeled me into the emergency operating room.
An hour later, I was still clinging to life by a thread.
The hospital handed Alexander a critical condition notice.
I managed to pry my eyes open once, and I saw Alexander crying. What a sight.
All of it was just fake. He was putting on an act.
Three long hours later, I finally pulled through, but I had to be moved to the ICU for observation.
Once I was stabilized enough to move, I dragged myself to Isabella's ward.
Alexander was there feeding her, his features soft with tenderness.
I stood in the doorway, far back, and just watched the scene unfold.
My heart had long gone numb from the pain.
When Alexander finally left the ward,I slipped in quietly.
Isabella's eyes lit up the second she spotted me. "Amelia..."
I dropped my gaze to her flat stomach.
My voice came out rough and gravelly. "You hooked up with my husband, and now you've lost your baby. You gave me blood once, today I paid you back..."
Tears rolled down Isabella's cheeks right away, and she reached out frantically to grab my hand.
She always knew me this well, even before I said a single word, she already knew what I was going to say.
I stepped backward, dodging her touch.
"The divorce papers are under the coffee table. Tell him to sign them. Everything between us is settled now. We owe each other nothing from this day forward."
I coughed hard a couple of times, forcing the tears burning behind my eyes back down.
Then I headed for the hospital exit.
A loud crash echoed from behind me inside the room.
But I didn't look back.
I just kept walking straight ahead.
I stepped out of the hospital gates and onto the road.
A car came barrelling toward me out of nowhere.
Bang!
My body flew up into the air, then slammed hard into the asphalt.
"Amelia!!"
Right then I heard it: a hysterical, blood-curdling scream.
Who was it?
I couldn't tell anymore.
- Writer
