Chapter 4

I sat in the seat Jolene had been sitting in and ate the food Mom had specially prepared for me. I was crying as I drank the soup that came with the steamed cabbage, so it ended up being salty.

I could feel the pain in my lower back intensifying, which meant that my kidney disease was acting up again.

I was all alone in the private dining room when a waiter walked up awkwardly and asked, "Can you please give me your parents' contact information? They still haven't settled the bill…"

I meant to settle Jolene's bill, but my pockets were empty. I had used all my pocket money to pay for the cab to the hospital earlier.

I forced down the rest of the cabbage soup along with my tears, then ravenously ate the delicious dishes left on the table.

I hadn't had any glazed roast chicken and jumbo shrimp in ages. I had imagined they would taste heavenly, but now they all tasted unbearably sour and bitter.

I forced myself to swallow, though the food tasted like cardboard.

Jolene suddenly pushed open the door. "It's not that I don't want to donate my kidney. I genuinely want to save Natalie, too. I'm just having a hard time with all of this—"

She suddenly let out a shriek when she caught sight of me eating the chicken drumstick. "How could you do this to us, Natalie? Everyone has sacrificed so much for your illness, yet you don't even take your own health seriously!"

She knocked the chicken drumstick from my hand, tears streaming down her face. "You can't eat another bite! Do you have any idea what this does to your kidneys, Natalie?"

I reached out to wipe Jolene's tears. "Please don't cry. You're so pretty. You'll ruin that pretty face of yours if you keep crying, Jolene…"

Mom and Dad came in right after Jolene, their expressions turning grim after hearing what she had said.

Mom broke down in tears. "Why are we being punished like this?"

Dad shoved me angrily. "Why can't you just control yourself? If you keep putting your body through this, they'll have to move your surgery up again, Natalie!"

Jolene turned deathly pale. She knew that the surgery meant months of recovery and a lifetime of checkups, and it would cost her her chance at dancing professionally.

She still wrapped her arms around me despite knowing that and said, "You can't do this to yourself. I'll give you my kidney, alright, Natalie?"

Mom said gently, "Stop acting up and making things difficult for Jolene…"

I tried to speak, but I couldn't get a single word out. I knew that as long as I was alive, I was only dragging my family down.

Mom and Dad couldn't bring themselves to lay a hand on me. They said nothing as they settled the bill, then took Jolene and left.

Dominic caught me by the arm and snarled, "You have to face the consequences of your actions, so go home yourself this time, Natalie."

I nodded, letting him know that I would go home on my own.

Dominic breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, accidentally dropping the train tickets he had bought for the graduation trip with Jolene.

I picked them up and took a look, noting that the departure date was the same day as my kidney transplant. I mused that he had probably been too afraid to take them out earlier.

I called the train station they were supposed to depart from and made a request. "Please call this number tomorrow and remind Jolene and Dominic about their train tickets."

Upon hearing that, the customer service representative readily agreed to my request.

I then called Jolene's teacher, Jennifer Lowe. She had always thought highly of Jolene's talent and would surely help her with her admission.

"Jolene's acceptance letter has arrived, but something came up at home. Can you please stop by to see her and make sure she gets enrolled at Briarlune Dance Academy, Ms. Lowe?"

After getting Ms. Lowe's agreement, I called Dr. Warner next and asked if she could help schedule health checkups for Mom and Dad.

I eventually found myself standing beside the river, the cold wind blowing around me. I didn't want anything else in my life. I only hoped that my family could live happily and peacefully once I was gone. I finally looked down at the rushing current and jumped right in.