Rhonda, sensing the shift, quickly linked her
arm with Zach’s.
“Zach, let’s talk to the doctor. We should show
Chloe we care!”
But Zach remained motionless.
He stared at me, persistently asking,
“Chloe, what you said… could it all be true?”
Ignoring him, I stopped the doctor.
“My face hurts badly. Could you check it?”
The doctor’s eyes fell on my face, and he
exclaimed,
“Who hit a patient?! That’s outrageous! Ms.
Zhou, just a minute, I’ll get a nurse to bring you
some ice packs!”
Ignoring Zach, I had gotten my point across.
He pulled his arm away from Rhonda, his voice
trembling.
“Chloe, were you really in a car accident?!”
“What are you doing here?!”
Kiki, who’d gone out to buy groceries, stormed
She’d always had a fiery temper, and seeing
Zach and Rhonda together in my room sent her
over the edge.
“You two scum! Don’t you think you’ve hurt
Chloe enough?!”
Enraged, she threw her grocery bag at Zach.
“Get out! Both of you! Get lost!”
5
Rhonda, unwilling to be berated, stepped
forward.
“Kiki, I know you’re close to Chloe, but you
can’t treat Zach like this! Chloe didn’t show up
at the party, so we came to check on her, out
of concern!”
