Day Forty-One...
~~*****~~
"I love you, Nate..."
Those words made Nathan halt on his step. His heart skipped a beat. 'Am I not hearing things? Those words came from her?' He turned around to see her face.
Abigail met his gaze. Those words just came out of her mouth naturally. She got worried after seeing Nathan walking away. He was furious and looked disheartened. Abigail had to say something to coax him. She ended up confessing her feelings.
Even she, herself, was surprised when she uttered those three magic words. This was her first confession of love for Nathan. She couldn't hide her true feelings toward him. After discovering the truth that Nathan was her online friend before, her hatred toward Nathan slowly dissipated.
"What did you just say?" Nathan asked her again. He was still confused but his heart was already racing inside his chest. He asked her if she loved Dave but she responded a different thing.
Nathan traced his steps toward Abigail. He wanted to hear her words once more. "Say it again," he mumbled, trapping Abigail in between his body and the wall.
Abigail gulped hard, her cheeks burning red. Nathan's penetrating gaze and their closeness were making her nervous and excited.
"I said..." Abigail contemplated for a moment. Dave was also there. Though he was drunk, what if he overheard them? There was no guarantee that Dave would forget what he would hear.
'I'm Phantomflake... not Abigail. I have feelings for Nathan... but this body is not mine. Abigail is in love with her boyfriend, Dave.' She was afraid that her mission might ruin the relationship between Dave and the real Abigail. Her conscience won't let her do that just for her own sake.
'Damn. I'm in a tricky situation right now. I need Bam-Bam to help me resolve this!'
Abigail was still preoccupied with her own thoughts when Nathan closed their gaps, still waiting for her to repeat her words. Their bodies were almost touching. He could even hear the loud beating of their heartbeats.
"Repeat your words," Nathan said in his commanding tone. He lifted her chin so that her eyes would be meeting his intense gaze.
Abigail hesitated for a moment. Just when she was about to say something, she suddenly felt a throbbing pain in her chest along with the pounding of her head. Her vision suddenly went dark. Her body froze for several seconds and Abigail felt like her world stopped. A force seemed like pushing her soul out of Abigail's body.
'Argh! No... What's happening to me?'
Before she knew it, Abigail was engulfed with darkness and she collapsed in Nathan's arms.
"Abi! Abi!" Nathan called her several times but she was no longer responding.
"What happened to her?" Dave came out of the room and saw Nathan holding Abigail's unconscious body. Dave sobered up and his drunkenness dissipated into thin air the moment he saw Abigail.
Nathan thought Abigail was having another panic attack. Without further ado, Nathan carried her, dashing out of the house. Dave followed him behind. Nathan and Dave rushed Abigail to the nearest hospital.
Meanwhile, in Stephen's place, Cherry was massaging Phantomflake's body when the monitor started beeping. There were irregularities in Phantomflake's pulse and heartbeat.
"Oh my God, what is happening?!"
Cherry quickly called Stephen for help. She didn't know what was happening to Phantomflake. Was she having an attack? Was her condition worsening? Was her blood pressure dropping?
"Stephen! Stephen!"
Cherry just came out of Phantomflake's room when she bumped into Stephen. He was alerted by the beeping alarm connected to his mobile phone. With that, he would be notified right away if something was happening to Phantomflake.
"Stephen, help! Something is wrong with my sis!"
Stephen entered the room to check Phantomflake. He already sent an emergency signal to his father. Dr. Zhou was on his way. In the meantime, Stephen was the one checking Phantomflake's condition.
Cherry just stood behind, watching Stephen's every movement as well as Phantomflake's monitors. She was anxious. She was biting her nail, pacing back and forth.
"What is happening to her?" Cherry asked Stephen.
Stephen stood there with a baffled look on his face. His eyes were scanning Phantomflake's body. The beeping sound already stopped. It did not take long before Stephen saw some movement.
"She moves!" Stephen blurted out, his eyes staring at Phantomflake's hand.
Cherry followed his line of sight. Yes! She also saw it. Phantomflake's fingers moved! They moved!
"Oh my, God! She moves! My sister's fingers move!" Cherry almost jumped with joy. She didn't know if she was laughing or she was sobbing. Her tears fell from the corners of her eyes but she was smiling.
Stephen held Phantomflake's hand. He was waiting for another movement. After three seconds, her fingers moved again. And they stopped.
"Stephen! Is my sister waking up?!" Cherry asked him expectantly. She darted her gaze back and forth between Stephen and Phantomflake.
Both Stephen and Cherry looked at Phantomflake's face. They were waiting for her to open her eyes. He gently squeezed her hand and silently prayed, 'C'mon Jane, please open your eyes.'
Ten seconds had passed but they didn't see the result they wanted to see. Phantomflake remained unconscious. Stephen checked her eyes. He shone a bright light into her eyes and her pupil constricted. There was brain activity!
"She is getting better and better. She will wake up soon, Cherry! This is a good sign!" Stephen informed Cherry.
Cherry bobbed her head. Then she pounced on Stephen, hugging him. She felt so happy and at the same time, she was grateful. This was a piece of good news.
"Thank you, Steph. Thank you. I can't wait to see her wide awake. I miss talking to her."
Stephen nodded and patted her back. Just like Cherry, he was looking forward to seeing and talking to Phantomflake. Though Phantomflake couldn't remember him, he wanted to know how she had been doing ever since they got separated from Country Z.
"Cherry, stay with her while waiting for my father. I will just inform Nathan about this."
"Oh right! I have to inform Abi as well."
Cherry and Stephen began calling Abigail and Nathan. However, the two were not answering their calls. Little did they know, Nathan was busy driving the car going to the hospital and Abigail was unconscious.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m