- 6.
I woke up in a hospital room, alone. My throat
was parched. I reached for the water glass,
but my hand was weak, and it slipped,
shattering on the floor.
The door opened, and a man wearing a
baseball cap and a mask walked in. He saw I
was awake and poured me another glass of
water. “You were in a car accident,” he
explained. “I brought you here.”
“Were you the one who swerved?” I asked,
suspicion lacing my voice.
He shook his head vehemently. “No way! I’m
just a Good Samaritan. You’re lucky, not seriously hurt. I’ll call the police, and you can
<
I was indeed lucky. The man, who introduced
himself as Alex, asked if I wanted to call my
family. Who would I call? I didn’t want to
worry my father. Ethan? Chloe? They were
the last people I wanted to see.
I shook my head. Alex looked like he wanted
to say something more, but he didn’t. He
waited for the police to arrive, then left.
The police explained that the other driver had
been drunk. I’d reacted quickly, and the
airbags had saved me from serious injury.
They took my statement and left. My head
throbbed. I drifted back to sleep.
When I woke again, it was dark. My phone
showed a missed call from my dad, but
nothing from Ethan or Chloe. I called my dad
back, assuring him I was fine, just away with
<
Then, I stared at Ethan’s name on my phone.
and, on a whim, called him. He answered
after several rings, his voice irritated. “Yeah?”
“I was in a car accident,” I said, my voice
hollow. “Can you come to the hospital? I’m
craving your homemade chicken soup.”
There was a long silence. Then, “Sure. I’ll be
there soon.”
e
His agreement brought me no comfort. I hung up, feeling numb. He’d never really been there
for me, not once in our entire relationship.
Yet, I’d clung to the hope that I would be his
exception. How foolish I’d been.
My phone buzzed. A notification from
Instagram. Chloe had posted again. “Just won
a video game against Mr. E! He owes me a
く
new handbag every week for a month! Hold
him to it, everyone!” The photo showed
them lounging on her couch in pajamas,
playing video games like any ordinary couple.
My body shook uncontrollably. He couldn’t
even be bothered to visit me in the hospital,
preferring to play video games with Chloe.
How could someone be so heartless?
I opened Ethan’s chat window, my hands
trembling, tears blurring my vision. I wiped my
eyes and slowly typed five words.
“We’re done. Goodbye.”
