02
It was the little girl who had been sitting next to me.
While I was still conscious, we had chatted for a bit and exchanged nicknames. She called me “the pretty boy,” and I called her “cut-
ie–ple.”
06:20
Cutie–ple looked at the lit–up screen, seeming to read the messages. But at only five years old, she didn’t know many words. She frowned, then looked at me with her big, serious eyes for a long moment.
Finally, she placed the phone back in my hand.
“Pretty boy,” she whispered, as if not to wake me, “you dropped your phone. You should hold it tight.”
When I didn’t respond, she scampered back to her mother’s arms.
A few minutes later, the phone buzzed again.
Caleb’s name flashed on the screen. [I’m at City General already.]
If you want to come, take a cab yourself.]
But you told me to wait. Why aren’t you coming?
A sudden thought struck me. Is Caleb the one who’s sick?
The thought propelled me upwards. My spirit shot through the air, and in an instant, I was at City General Hospital.
The first person I saw was Caleb.
He was wearing a dark gray, bespoke suit, his back to me as he stood by a glass wall, talking on the phone. He looked as handsome and composed as ever, completely unshaken.
I floated closer, planning to give him a little scare, when I heard him say, “The doctor is examining Finn now. It should be nothing
serious, don’t worry.”
Finn? What’s he doing here?
The next second, the door to the examination room opened. Caleb hung up and walked over. “Are you okay?” he asked the person
who came out.
“Caleb, the doctor said I’m fine,” Finn said, grabbing Caleb’s hand and frowning. “But I still feel sick. Will you stay with me?”
That drama queen. He’s faking it! I thought, so furious I could have screamed. I swooped forward to throttle him, but my hands passed straight through his neck.
I was trapped between them as I saw Caleb’s lips curve into the faintest of smiles.
“Of course,” he said, his voice gentle.
Caleb was tall and built, with sharp features and intense, cold eyes. When he wasn’t speaking, he had an intimidating air about him. But whenever he smiled at me, I felt he was the kindest person in the world.
He hadn’t smiled at me in a long time.
“But,” Caleb’s gentle expression faded slightly. “Leo is coming over later. I need to be here for his heart check–up.”
A flash of resentment crossed Finn’s face before he quickly masked it with a smile. “Caleb, you’re the best, kindest person I know.
Leo isn’t even your real brother, and after how he lied to you, you’re still so good to him.”
The mention of me seemed to trigger something in Caleb. His face darkened.
“This is the last time,” he said. “If he ever pulls a stunt like this again, I’m done with him.”
I hovered in the middle of the stark white corridor. A cold draft from the window passed right through me.
Strange.
08:29
Why does my heart still hurt?
“It really is the last time,” I murmured to the empty air. “Caleb.”
“I won’t bother you again..”
Because I think I’m already dead.
Finn, satisfied with Caleb’s answer, tugged his arm toward the exit. Before they reached the door, Caleb’s phone rang
I floated to his side as he answered. “Hello, Mr. Kane,” a voice on the other end said. “I was wondering, have you heard from Leo?”
