Chapter 4 - An Unexpected Collapse
The nurse’s expression changed immediately.
“Driver, call an ambulance.”
The mother stepped backward.
“Is he bleeding?”
“Yes.”
The nurse reached beneath the young man’s shirt and carefully examined the side of his waist. A thick medical bandage was hidden beneath the fabric, but one edge had torn open during the fall.
Fresh blood was soaking through it.
The driver grabbed his phone.
“We’re near Riverside Avenue. I’ll give them our location.”
The young man tried to push himself upright.
“No ambulance.”
The nurse pressed a folded scarf against the wound.
“You may have reopened your surgical incision.”
“I can’t go back to the hospital.”
“That is not your decision right now.”
“Yes, it is.”
His tone was firmer than before, though weakness had begun to blur his words.
The mother stood motionless beside the seat.
Her younger son watched the blood with wide eyes.
She quickly covered his face.
“Don’t look.”
The older girl slipped from the seat and approached the young man.
“Mom made you stand.”
Her mother flinched.
“Lily, come back.”
But the girl remained where she was.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
The young man looked at her and managed another tired smile.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
The mother opened her mouth, but no words came.
Around her, the mood of the passengers had changed completely.
Those who had supported her now avoided her eyes.
The elderly man with the shopping bags spoke bitterly.
“We should all be ashamed.”
The woman near the window nodded.
“Not only her.”
The young man’s breathing became faster.
The nurse checked his pulse.
“What is your name?”
“Ethan.”
“Ethan, stay awake.”
“I am awake.”
“Who is waiting for you?”
He hesitated.
“No one.”
The answer made the nurse pause.
“Were you discharged alone?”
Ethan stared at the wet floor.
“I left.”
“You left the hospital without permission?”
He gave a small nod.
“Why?”
Before he could answer, his phone began vibrating inside his pocket.
The screen lit up as it slipped onto the floor.
A message appeared.
RETURN IMMEDIATELY. YOUR SISTER IS ASKING FOR YOU.
The nurse saw it.
“Your sister is in the hospital?”
Ethan reached for the phone, but his arm failed halfway.
The mother picked it up before it slid beneath a seat.
Another message appeared.
ETHAN, HER CONDITION IS GETTING WORSE.
The young man’s face lost what little color remained.
“I have to go.”
He tried to rise again.
The nurse held him down.
“You are not walking anywhere.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
Ethan’s eyes filled with panic.
“My sister is seven. She has leukemia.”
The bus remained completely silent.
“I promised I would be there when she woke up.”
The mother looked at the phone in her hand.
May you like
For the first time since boarding, her confident expression vanished entirely.
Then Ethan’s body suddenly went limp.
