Chapter 11
Scott’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He practically sprang from the bed, rushing to knock on the door across the hall.
“Pamela!
Is that you?”
But a stranger opened the door: “Who are you? Knocking in the middle of the night!
I just rented this place!”
This man was a tenant.
Scott’s heart sank as he pulled out his phone: “What’s your rent?
I’ll pay ten times. Move out now.”
The man’s face brightened, hastily taking the money before leaving.
Key in hand, Scott stepped toward the doorway but stopped himself.
Forget it.
If Pamela returned to find him trespassing, she’d be furious.
Still, he couldn’t bear strangers living in her home.
He returned to his apartment and slept through the night.
At dawn’s first light, Scott splashed water on his face, remembering the hospital where Pamela had long received
treatment.
If he couldn’t find her, her primary physician would know whether she was alive!
Outside the hospital, crowds of patients gathered amid a recent virus outbreak.
Scott searched and waited endlessly.
Only after hours did he finally meet her doctor.
Mentioning Pamela’s name brought instant recognition.
She’d been under this doctor’s care since childhood-he’d practically watched her grow up.
Yet every encounter involved relapses and treatments.
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11:52
The doctor sighed, recalling:
“That girl had such a stubborn streak!
I remember once she demanded discharge right after leaving intensive care.
Said she had to meet some important friend… something about testifying…”
Shock flashed across Scott’s face as memories crystallized-his father’s second trial!
Pamela had stood pale in the witness box then.
But he’d noticed nothing!
Even during their later conversations, she never mentioned brushing death’s door.
Scott slowly closed his eyes, lashes trembling crimson.
Agony pierced his chest, spreading through his limbs, suffocating him.
His childhood sweetheart-once needing his protection-
Had endured such strength, leaving him aching with belated realization.
Learning this truth, Scott left the doctor’s office looking haggard and broken.
Adrift in grief, he wandered to their old hospital room.
Moonlight spilled through the window as night fell.
Through hazy drunkenness, he saw Pamela’s ghost-frail frame and ashen face darting about to care for him.
Needles of pain pricked Scott’s heart, choking his breath.
Tears welled as he whispered to the empty room: “Pamela… Why treat me so kindly? I don’t deserve it…”
Drowning in sorrow, Scott drifted to sleep in the vacant ward.
He dreamed of Pamela-still skeletal, bloodless lips curving into a smile.
“Pamela!”
Jolting awake to emptiness, he left the hospital, despair heavy in his steps,
The streets buzzed with nightlife, bustling with traffic and swarming with crowds.
How could someone so vibrant possibly be gone…
Just as he was beginning to accept reality, he rose and glimpsed a familiar figure across the street through the dazed reflection in the glass window.
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11:52
Chapter 11
It was Pamela!
Scott’s heart pounded, hope surging through him.
He knew Pamela couldn’t be dead!
Scott whirled around and shouted toward the opposite side.
“Pamela!”
Ignoring the perilous traffic, he darted across the road and grabbed Pamela’s hand!
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