All Chapters of Bloom for Me When I'm Gone: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

After Mom left, no one took care of me.I lived like a stray dog in that village, begging for leftovers that had already gone sour. I survived on whatever wild fruit I could find in the hills, year after year, until I nearly died trying to escape.Fifteen years later, I went to a private hospital for a follow-up appointment.That was where I saw my mother, Vanessa Sterling, again.We spotted each other from opposite ends of the hallway.My heart lurched. I dropped my gaze and turned, desperate to get away before she could reach me.She rushed after me anyway and seized my frostbitten hand."What?" she snapped. "You can't even look me in the eye? Too ashamed to face me?"My chest tightened. My fingers curled instinctively.Her hand was so warm.The last time she had held me like this, I had been trembling from head to toe after throwing myself in front of her while Dad beat me.Slowly, I pulled my hand free."You've got the wrong person."Mom let out a cold laugh and steppe

"Stay away from her."My fingers tightened around the blanket.So that was it."I see."Mom crossed her arms and scoffed."Who are you trying to fool with that pathetic expression? You think I'll feel sorry for you and suddenly claim you as my son?"I watched the medicine drip steadily through the IV line.My voice came out dry."I never expected you to claim me."When I pushed you away fifteen years ago, I never planned on seeing you again."Her expression darkened immediately.The disgust in her eyes became almost unbearable."Don't bring up those years. If it weren't for your father, I never would have suffered the way I did."Her jaw tightened."His blood runs through you. Sometimes looking at you makes me feel filthy all over again."I went silent and even slowed my breathing.She had every right to hate me.If that man hadn't paid traffickers to bring her into that mountain settlement, she could have lived the privileged, brilliant life she had been born for.I

Darkness swallowed me.The sounds around me were muffled and chaotic, as though I were underwater.But through all of it, I heard one voice trembling with panic."Evan... Evan!"Mom.There was fear in her voice. Real fear. Enough to make it crack.I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt impossibly heavy.So she could panic over me after all.Footsteps rushed closer.Then I heard Evelyn."Move! Bring the crash cart!"Her usually steady voice was tight with urgency."Ms. Sterling, all of you need to step back. Do not interfere."Mom seemed about to say something, but Evelyn cut her off."He has advanced gastric cancer and he's hemorrhaging. If you delay us even another second, he could die."Everything went silent.I felt myself being lifted onto a gurney. The wheels rattled violently as they raced down the hall.Before my consciousness disappeared completely, I felt strangely calm.If I died now, maybe that wouldn't be so terrible.At least, in the last moment of

Once the drug entered my system, it felt as though someone were twisting a knife inside my stomach.Some nights, the pain made my whole body shake. Cold sweat soaked through my hospital gown.It hurt worse than any beating I had taken in the mountains.Whenever that happened, Evelyn sat beside me.She would rub her palms together until they were warm, then lay them gently over my stomach.The heat from her hands seeped into me little by little."If it gets too bad, bite me."She held her other hand near my mouth.I clenched my teeth and shook my head.I couldn't do that to her.One morning, Adrian came into the room behind Mom like an overly eager shadow.He was carrying a container of soup and staring at me with bright eyes."Hey, Evan. How are you feeling today?"It was the first time he had said my name without contempt in it.I froze.Warmth spread through my chest."Better."Mom sat nearby and watched us quietly, a faint smile on her face.Adrian leaned close and

The man was Mom's older brother, Richard Sterling—head of the Sterling family since grandfather had passed.My uncle.He walked to the bed and studied me in silence.I became so nervous I tried to sit straighter.He placed a hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me back against the pillows.Then he patted my shoulder once.His voice was deep and steady."Come home, Evan. Everyone's waiting for you."I froze.Those words meant more than an invitation.They meant the Sterling family had formally accepted me.I was no longer the unwanted boy drifting around.I belonged somewhere.My eyes burned as I nodded hard."Thank you, Uncle Richard."Dr. Collins and Evelyn pushed the trial further than anyone had expected, and my cancer gradually stabilized.It wasn't cured.But I had been given time.The day I was discharged, the sky was bright and clear.The Sterlings sent a car for me. Mom held my hand the entire ride and refused to let go.At the Sterling estate, I was given