They Granted Her 100 Wishes And Forgot I Was Dying Too Chapter 04

When I woke again, I was in a hospital.

Every inch of me hurt. Even breathing pulled at my injuries, leaving me barely able to draw a breath.

The monitor’s alarm kept sounding. Nurses murmured anxiously nearby.

“Her injuries are severe. She’s bleeding internally, her hand is broken, and she’s running a fever of 104 degrees. If no one treats her soon, she’ll be in real trouble.”

“But where are the doctors?”

The other nurse sighed. “Mr. Parker called every available specialist next door. Ms. Bennett pricked her fingertip on a rose thorn, and he wants it treated carefully so it won’t scar.”

“Everyone’s looking after her. Who’s going to look after this patient?”

Just then, the door opened.

They came in clustered around Molly and went straight to the empty bed across from mine, where she sat down.

Sophie cleaned Molly’s hands with a wipe, my brother handed her warm water, and Ryan carefully tucked in her blanket.

Every eye was on her. No one looked at me. I might as well have been furniture.

Molly leaned against Evan, her eyes wet with tears.

“The kinder you are to me, the harder it is to leave you.”

“I know you really care about Maya more. You’re only here because you feel sorry for me.”

“When I’m gone, you can go back to her. You won’t have to pretend to care about me anymore…”

“Don’t say that!”

Sophie was the first to protest.

“Of course we like you better. Maya’s dull and takes everything so seriously. She’s nothing like you!”

“Exactly,” Ryan said. “You’re more considerate, and kinder, too.”

“We’ve thought of you as our little sister for years. Of course we want you to stay.”

My brother patted her shoulder.

“Don’t think like that. Honestly, you’re the only one I’ve ever considered my sister.”

Evan stood beside them without a word.

Molly looked up at him through her tears.

“Evan, do you feel that way too? Would you rather I stayed?”

He hesitated at the sight of her tears, then nodded.

“Yes.”

That one word finally broke me.

I stared at the ceiling as memories flashed through my mind.

When my brother’s startup failed and left him in debt, I stayed up taking freelance jobs to pay it all off.

When Sophie’s mother was in a car accident, I stayed at the hospital for a full month, emptying her bedpans and cleaning up after her without a word of complaint.

When Ryan’s test scores kept him out of graduate school, I worked through every missed question with him. The following year, he got in.

And Evan. Seven years together. I stood by him from the days when he had nothing, gave him the best of everything I had, and poured all my energy into our future.

None of that meant anything to them. Someone else could wipe it all away.

I opened my right hand. The [1] in my palm had faded until I could barely see it.

Above Molly’s head, the countdown reached its final three seconds.

[3]

[2]

[1]

With one second left, I gave a quiet laugh.

“Goodbye. For good.”

They all froze and turned to me in surprise.

My countdown and Molly’s reached zero at the same moment.