Keep Her Safe - Chapter 4

Mom looked up sharply, her eyes reddening too.

“Wen Shi, do you hear yourself? Zhi is my daughter before she’s your sister! She needs blood every three weeks. Her life depends on it! Do you think your father and I would lie about that? Do you think we wouldn’t take her?”

The words came fast. Her agitation left her breathing hard.

She had worn herself out worrying over me all these years—and over my brother’s schooling, over keeping the whole family afloat.

Six months earlier, a doctor had told her that the strain and exhaustion were affecting her mental health. Sometimes, when she became overwhelmed, she briefly hallucinated. She couldn’t handle too much stress.

Panting, she opened her bag with shaking hands and rummaged inside.

“The paperwork from her transfusion is still in here!” Her voice shook with anger. “I’ll show you! You don’t believe your own mother? Will you believe it if you see the proof?”

But her hands trembled so badly that, after searching and searching, she still hadn’t found it.

Watching her frantic movements sent a sharp pain through my head.

Ever since the dizziness and anemia had struck the previous night, before my parents sent me away, my mind had been a fog. I kept feeling that I had forgotten something important.

Now I was dead, and I still couldn’t remember what it was.

My brother finally mastered himself and stepped forward to stop her.

“Don’t get upset. I… I didn’t mean I don’t believe you. I know how much you love her. As long as she’s had blood. As long as she’s only at Grandma’s.”

The unease never left his eyes. But he was afraid something would happen to Mom if she became too agitated. He could only force himself to sound calm and soothe her.

He left the apartment and got back into the car to go to the exam center.

On the way, he was visibly distracted. At last, he took out his phone and sent me a message.

“Did you get to Grandma’s, Zhi? Are you feeling okay?”

Because of my condition, my parents had bought me a phone when I was very young. If I suddenly felt ill, I could reach them straightaway.

I was terrified that my brother would discover something was wrong and miss his exams for the third time.

Mom was right. He was a person too. He had a future of his own.

I threw myself toward the phone beside my bed, picked it up, and hurried to reply.

“I’m fine.

“Do your best on the exams. Then come and take me home with Mom and Dad.”

But no reply appeared on the screen my brother was staring at.

I looked back at the bed. My phone still lay quietly beside the pillow.

I was only a soul. I couldn’t pick it up at all. The message I thought I’d sent was nothing but my imagination.

My brother grew anxious again. He called me.

The phone beside my pillow lit up and vibrated. It was too quiet for Grandma to hear.

I was frantic. But all I could do was circle helplessly in the air.

His grip tightened around his phone. Once more, he couldn’t hold back. He turned toward our parents with a deep frown.

“Why can’t I reach her? She isn’t answering calls or messages. She always keeps her phone with her.”