8
391words
Living in the mountains had made me stronger,and his cheek swelled instantly.
Spotting Emily returning with water,he collapsed,staining his white shirt.
Emily dropped her bucket,rushing over,concerned.
Nathan’s eyes welled, with his malice changing into wronged innocence.
“I just wanted to help James with the kids,but he thought I was stealing them and attacked…”
Before he finished,Emily slapped his other cheek,hard.
Blood trickled from his lip,his eyes wide with fear.
“Emily,you hit me?”
Her gaze was icy.
“Nathan,I was fooled by your facade,falling for your cheap manipulations.”
“James is stronger,more talented—you’re not even worth his finger!”
Nathan’s fake tears froze under her merciless words.
“These months without James,I realized I’ve loved him for years!”
Emily laughed bitterly,calling herself a fool.
Too foolish to admit she’d fallen,too foolish to use Nathan as an escape.
“Nathan,while I have a shred of patience,get lost.”
Her voice dripped with menace.
“Or in these mountains,making someone vanish isn’t hard.”
Nathan paled,realizing she wasn’t joking.
“I’ll leave tomorrow morning.”
He slunk away,defeated.
With him gone,I breathed easier.
As for Emily,no matter how I mocked or cursed her,she wouldn’t leave.
I couldn’t make her disappear either.
She stayed,genuinely teaching.
The icy CEO now patiently smiled at snotty,dirt-streaked kids.
She stopped pestering me,instead leaving a letter at my door daily.
Each held a different item.
Sometimes, it was a bowl with a note saying, “James, I finally stopped burning food. I can take care of you now.” Sometimes, it was a beaded bracelet and a note that read, “I carved this from sandalwood. Like it?”
I never responded but didn’t throw them away.
One day after class,I picked up her latest letter.
Opening it,my face fell.
It wasn’t from Emily but a printed article.
Nathan’s latest painting,Hope of the Hills,had won the Monet International Art Award,gaining global fame.
But it was my portrait of Tim,painted in the fields…
The article detailed Nathan’s interview,claiming he’d toiled in the mountains for half a year to create it.
My vision darkened,my body cold and aching.
As I collapsed,I heard Emily’s panicked shout.
When I woke,I was in a hospital bed.The surroundings,Emily’s anxious face,and her doctor friend confirmed I was no longer in the mountains.
“What happened?”
I felt drained,weak.
Emily gripped my hand,her eyes bloodshot.
Her friend explained.
“James…your health indicators are bad.You need a kidney transplant soon.”
