- 3.
The cop’s voice was clear.
Percy’s smile vanished.
“Something happened at her house? Is her
mother hurt badly?”
I fought my way up, grabbed the phone, and
fell back to the ground.
I didn’t care about the pain, and asked,
“Officer, how is my mom? What happened?”
“Her injuries are severe. She’s lost a lot of
blood, we’re rushing her to the hospital.
Please come as soon as possible.”
My heart broke.
I bit my lip, tears streaming down my face.
Percy was silent, then he said with a little
regret, “Lizzie, I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
“What’s the point of saying sorry now? My
mom is in the hospital!”
He kneeled and tried to help me up.
“I’ll take you to the hospital.”
I pushed him away, “Get away from me!”
Chapter 2
“Get off me! You’re disgusting!”
“Good thing the cops showed up! Percy, you
just wait!”
“This is over, and I’m dumping your sorry ass!
I wouldn’t marry a heartless jerk like you if
you paid me!”
His hand froze mid–air, and I saw a flash of
hurt in his eyes.
I struggled to my feet, limping towards the
exit.
He hurried after me, grabbing my arm.
“Don’t be stubborn, Lizzie. I messed up,
okay?”
“There aren’t any cabs around here. How are
you going to get to the hospital if I don’t take
you?”
I glared at him, but I didn’t shake him off.
Mom was in bad shape, and I wasn’t going to
waste time on petty stuff.
The pain was like a buzzsaw in my leg.
I bit my lip to stay conscious.
What if something happened to Mom…?
I couldn’t even think about it.
く
A wave of guilt crashed over me.
The whole ride, Percy kept trying to say
something, but I cut him off every time.
“Drive faster!”
I snapped at the driver, staring out the
window.
He tried to comfort me.
“Save it, Percy! I don’t want to hear it!”
He just looked at me, speechless.
I saw a flicker of genuine regret in his eyes,
but I wasn’t buying it.
<
Then Percy glanced at my leg.
He frowned, “Your leg…you’re bleeding a lot.”
My jeans were soaked with blood.
It was dripping down onto the car mat.
“Thanks to you, I might lose this damn leg.”
His face darkened.
He snapped at the driver, “Step on it!”
We got to the hospital.
I practically crawled out of the car.
When the nurses came to bandage me up, I
“Where’s my mom’s OR? Yvonne Caldwell,
that’s Y–V–O–N–N–E.”
The nurse hesitated, pointing down the hall.
“Third operating room on the east side.
They’re working on her now.”
Before she finished, I was hobbling down the
hall.
“Lizzie, slow down!”
Percy tried to help me, but I ripped my arm
away.
“Get lost! If you hadn’t been such a jerk, Mom
wouldn’t be in this mess!”
“Don’t you dare pretend you care!”
Г
The guilt on his face was unbearable, so I had
to shut him out.
I limped towards the operating room.
The light was on.
I stood there, gripping my fists, strung tighter
than a guitar string.
I heard Percy behind me.
He glanced at my leg, then said softly, “Lizzie,
your leg is messed up. Let a doctor look at
it.”
“I’ll keep an eye on the surgery if you want…”
“Lay off the pity act!”
I glared at him.
“I don’t trust you near anything!”
His face went white, but he didn’t say
anything.
Percy stood next to me and called Chad,
trying to get him to come back.
The hallway was silent.
I could hear Chad’s annoyed voice over the
speaker.
“You’re listening to Lizzie’s lies too?”
“She’s always been a drama queen. Now
she’s making up stories to get me home.”
Percy’s voice was urgent, “Chad, come on!
It’s real. Your mother and sister are hurt!”
Chad laughed, “Whatever. I’ll catch the
meteor shower with Brittany, then come save
them. Lizzie’s just got a boo–boo.”
He hung up.
Percy called again, but it went straight to
voicemail.
I didn’t care.
I didn’t expect anything from that heartless
jerk.
Percy found a doctor to bandage my leg in
front of the operating room.
Г
The doctor told me I had a broken leg and
soft tissue damage.
He looked at me apologetically.
I didn’t even glance at him, just stared at the
door.
Later that night, the light finally went off.
The doctor came out, exhausted.
He said Mom made it because we got her to
the hospital in time, but she’d need a lot of
care.
I finally lost it.
I covered my face and started crying.
く
Mom was okay.
My nerves finally cracked.
Everything went black.
