With lightning speed, she yanked off her coat and, like a mother hen shielding her chicks, wrapped me tightly in her embrace.
Frank spun around and advanced menacingly towards the streamers
"You scumbags! You'll stop at nothing for some measly views. Get out of here this instant! Do you really want to spend the rest of your lives broadcasting from behind bars?" he snarled.
One of the streamers, displaying a reckless bravado, shoved the phone right in Frank's face, sneering, "Oh, who do you think you are? Don't try to scare us! We're just exposing the truth. What's wrong with that?"
In an instant, Frank's temper exploded like a volcano.
With a furious swipe of his hand, he sent the streamer's phone crashing to the floor. "Truth? You call this malicious slander! You're nothing but vultures, feasting on human misery!" he roared. And with that, the two men lunged at each other, locked in a fierce struggle.
The room descended into chaos, with shouts, grunts, and the sound of objects being knocked over filling the air.
Sarah, meanwhile, held me even tighter,. She used her own form as a living shield, determined to keep any hint of chaos and malice at bay.
The way they coordinated, seemingly in perfect harmony, was nothing short of ironic in my eyes.
Frank wrenched himself free from the scuffle and rushed to my side, dropping to his knees.
"Alice, don't be afraid. I won't let them spout another word of nonsense,".
Amidst this chaos, several deranged streamers, taking advantage of everyone's attention being focused on the altercation between Frank and the other streamers, stealthily squeezed their way to the bedside.
Their hands, resembling those of demons, lashed out and started to roughly grope my already battered body.
My hospital gown was torn to shreds in an instant.
Horrifying welts and scratches appeared on my arms, shoulders, and chest in rapid succession.
My skin was sliced open by their nails, and blood oozed out slowly.
I gasped in pain, trying to wriggle free but having no strength left. All that escaped my lips was a feeble moan.
In that moment of utter chaos and searing pain, my spirit finally succumbed to the overwhelming torment.
My consciousness plunged into an abyss of endless darkness, as if swallowed by a bottomless void.
Suddenly, a shrill scream from one of the streamers pierced through the cacophony in the ward. "Is she dead?" the voice screeched.
In an instant, the hospital staff, alerted by the commotion, came hurtling in with a stretcher.
Their faces were etched with urgency as they swiftly transferred my limp body, and then immediately plunged into the arduous task of life - saving.
Doctors and nurses worked feverishly, their hands a blur of activity, their eyes fixed intently on the monitors, determined to pull me back from the brink of death.
At long last, the lights above the operating room door finally flickered and then extinguished.
The doctor emerged from the operating room with a solemn expression.
"I'm truly sorry. By the time the patient was brought in, her injuries were already far too severe. Despite our all - out efforts, her complete paralysis is now a certainty, and her condition remains extremely critical."
Upon hearing these words, Frank froze in his tracks .
After a brief moment of stunned silence, he suddenly lunged forward, seizing the doctor's arm with both hands.
"What did you say? Complete paralysis? That can't be true! There must be a way, right? No matter how much it costs or what methods are needed, you have to cure her! She's my entire world!"
Sarah, her face already a mask of tears, suddenly felt her legs give way beneath her.
With a heart - rending wail, she crumpled to the floor, her body convulsing with sobs.
"Alice, you can't just give up like this! You can't be reduced to this state!"
A few weeks later,
I gradually regained consciousness.
I found myself back in the hospital ward, where the dim lights cast an eerie, oppressive glow.
Every part of my body, save for my left hand, which had sustained less severe injuries, was swathed in bandages. Each breath I took sent jolts of pain shooting through my entire being.
Just as I was starting to gather my wits, a shrill ringtone suddenly pierced the silence of the hospital ward.
In an instant, Frank's voice filled the air, carrying a tenderness and doting affection I had never heard before.
"Hello, Jenny. How are you feeling today? My mind is completely filled with thoughts of you. Every time I think about you donating your liver to me, my heart just melts. I really owe you everything this time. I don't know what I would have done without you," he cooed, his voice as soft as a gentle spring breeze, yet hitting me like a sledgehammer.
After a brief pause, although I couldn't make out Jenny's words, Frank's response was dripping with affection. "Silly girl, what are you talking about? I'd do anything for you. You're the very breath of my life,"