a P

ember of hope in my chest. I would die for Arleen. Not for me. Nev

ale with panic. "Mr. Nash! Miss Coffey! Something'

as if propelled by an invisible force, a primal roar escaping his lips. "Arleen! Where i

erupted, a sharp, white-hot agony that made me cry out. My arm instantly blazed red, blisters already rising. But Dawson was gone. He didn't hea

as already too far, his panicked footsteps fading down the corridor. No one

ill trembling from the shock, fumbled with the cold plastic. Finally, a nurse a

g, filled with a furious desperation I had never witnessed. He was raging at a group of doctors and nurses, his hands gestu

n, a woman with a sprained ankle and a tiny cut. For me, with a fractured leg, a concussion, an

sed thing. The nurse, a kind-faced woman, gently applied ointment

om a nearby room, his voice hushed but audible. "And

ute, cut through the quiet. "Take my blood!

sh, you've already donated quite a bit thi

city. "She needs it! I will give her every drop I have! I will die for her, if that's

, without a second thought." He had just said it. And now, he was proving it. Not just s

He had never offered me a single drop of his blood. He had only drained

came to visit me. He seemed to have forgotten I even existed. The nurses, sensing my iso

He hasn't left her side." "Such devotion! It's like something out of a movie." "No, it's not

n trying to reach Mr. Nash regarding your medical bills, and discharge arrangements. He hasn't

simply confirmed what I alrea

the hospital, leaning on a pair of crutches. As I reached the entrance, a sleek black car pulled up. Dawson step

ncerned smile. "Dora, darling! So glad to see you up and about!" She

ost indifferent look. "Oh. Good for h

g. "She did try to help me, you know. Before... well, before she got into her accide

ll that matters." He opened the back door for Arleen, then turned to me, his voice sharp. "My mother wants to see you later, Dora. She's worried sick abo

openly, brazenly, right in front of me. The house, my sanctuary,

t pierced my very soul. He buckled her in, smoothed her hair, then leaned in to whisper something only she cou

, watching them drive away, leaving me alone in the hospital driveway, I finally understood. My heart, which I thought had been dead, felt a strange, chilling sense of calm