Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“SUNG-BIN!” I scream. “I need an ambulance!”
He comes running, phone in hand. The other group members start sprinting toward the mansion, obviously hearing the chaos, and of course cameras are catching it all.
He’s lying there nearly lifeless.
I feel for a pulse and start sobbing, hands shaking to where I can’t find one but I know he’s alive, he has to be alive. Sung-Bin pulls me away. I stumble back into Lucas who holds on to me while we watch Sung-Bin start to do chest compressions.
I fight Lucas in an effort to get to Sookie just as Suho and Rae appear around the corner. Rae starts sprinting toward us. Suho holds him back, Rae’s fighting. “Sookie! Sookie!”
“Stop!” Suho yells.
“Sookie!” Rae bursts into tears and collapses to the ground still bound by Suho’s arms. He holds him tight, the other band members rush over and have to hold Rae down while he tries to literally crawl toward Sookie. His fingernails dig into the concrete like he’s trying to grip it, blood starts pouring from his hands. “Sookie!”
“Stop!” Suho yells it again and again until all I hear is Sookie and stop for the next five minutes until the ambulance arrives.
When they get there Sung-Bin fills them in on what happened and they continue CPR while Sookie lays there lifeless.
I’m dying.
My heart stops beating, I can’t breathe. I start to rush toward him again only to have Lucas pull me back. By now, the girls have rushed out to the chaos.
And all I see is Iseul ’s shocked face.
“YOU!” I roar.
She jumps back.
I shove Lucas away. “You did this!”
“I didn’t know! I didn’t know!” She immediately starts crying. “I would never want to hurt him, I was just jealous, I didn’t know sending it in to Director Simon would---”
“Director Simon?” Sung-Bin jumps to his feet while the paramedics put Sookie into the ambulance. He turns to me. “That. I will handle.”
I wait a few seconds and finally nod. “Okay. Thank you.”
He stomps off toward the production room.
And I’m left watching Sookie, with nobody, all alone, getting put into the ambulance.
“Go.” Iseul says. “I never meant, I never thought.” She starts sobbing.
Lucas grabs my hand and walks me toward the ambulance. “Can she ride with you?”
He’s already being hooked up to machines.
It’s not real.
None of this is real.
“Yeah,” the paramedic says. “But once we’re in the ER family only.”
“He’s my family,” I say. “He’s mine.”
He sighs and holds out his hand, letting me in the ambulance. The last thing I see is Rae’s broken face as we drive off.
The last thing I hear, is Sookie coding.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sookie
I’m floating.
It’s nice.
Freeing.
I hear her voice.
I want to stay for her.
What’s even happening?
I keep thinking about my dancing and almost fainting on stage, only to faint again and hear voices but, am I okay? Alive?
I slowly open my eyes.
The room is blurry or maybe it’s my eyes. It’s white all around me. Oh shit, did I die? I blink my eyes over and over again, but the blurriness remains until I finally just keep them squeezed shut.
If I’m in Heaven it sucks.
If I’m in hell, well that’s why my eyes won’t work.
I hear talking.
“I didn’t know.” Rae’s voice sounds. “Obviously. And I’m scared, I’m so scared not for the group but for you. You coded man, your heart literally stopped for over a minute an arrythmia apparently. I thought you were dead and all I kept thinking was that I left angry, so fucking angry, and you’re laying there lifeless on the ground while my sister screams your name with me. I never want to experience that again. I know you’re alive and breathing, but I really need you to wake up.”
I move my fingers for him then open my eyes. “I can’t see well.”
All I see is blond hair and a tall body lunging for my bed. “You can talk?”
“I’m human.”
“I mean, they weren’t sure about brain damage or anything.” Rae says, voice cracking, then he starts shaking and bawling over me. “I didn’t know. I don’t ever want to experience this again. Shit.”
I try to reach for his hand, but he grabs mine first.
“I was wrong for not telling you.” I rasp.
“Yes.” He agrees, which isn’t shocking, that’s just Rae. “But, I get why you didn’t and I’m sorry I reacted that way.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t say something first.” I turn my head to the side. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Can you hand me that water right there or ice chips because I’m gonna go crazy.”
He hands me the ice chips as more knocks come on the door. I’m still blurry but my eyes focus on one person.
Her.
I hold out my left hand.
Ari rushes to the bed and pulls me into her arms and starts sobbing. “You were coding or it seemed like you were, and I didn’t know, I didn’t know—”