جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 8

Cole's POVSeeing my face covered in tears, Savannah ultimately felt bad for me and decided to compromise."If you promise to tone down your attitude—stop being so overbearing and stop bullying Joey—I can bring you home tomorrow."She paused."Not tonight. It's New Year's Eve and his birthday. Mom, Dad, and I promised we'd spend it just with him."I opened my dry mouth, unsure whether to laugh or to cry. In the end, I settled for a self-deprecating smirk."I'm sick. I have bone cancer and need to be hospitalized for treatment. You just have to pay the bill. I won't go home, and I won't bully your precious Joey."But the words had barely left my mouth when Savannah's suppressed anger erupted beside me."Cole Shepherd!" she roared. "What is with this passive-aggressive attitude? Now that you know you're the real son, you think you can do whatever you want? You'd make up a story about bone cancer just to get me to bring you home?"Staring at her in absolute shock, I pointed at Dr

Cole's POVMy body contorted as a blood-curdling scream ripped out of me. The unprecedented level of pain nearly knocked me unconscious.Pure instinct made me want to push Joey away. But before I could even touch him, he tumbled down the steps behind him on his own."Mom! Dad! Savannah! It hurts so bad!"His pitiful cries instantly drowned out my screams of pain.In my daze, I saw the three people inside the restaurant snap their heads toward the window almost instantaneously, right before they frantically got up and rushed across the street.Savannah arrived first. Clearly looking heartbroken, she scooped Joey into her arms in a complete panic and asked what had happened.Mom and Dad followed close behind, throwing themselves next to him and frantically calling him their sweetheart.While checking him for injuries, they hurriedly called for an ambulance.Joey looked utterly aggrieved while lying in Savannah's arms, his nose turning red as he sobbed and pointed at me."I… I t

Cole's POVI followed Savannah out the door, floating above her as I watched the Grayford scenery pass us by.Looking back, it all felt so absurd.Over the past six years, everyone at the orphanage had alienated me, whether they were kids my age, older than me, or younger than me. Even the cafeteria lady would kick me in disgust whenever she saw me.Because of that, I wasn't allowed to participate in any of the activities there.When the other children went on spring outings, I was deliberately locked in the basement for the entire day. At mealtimes, my bowl usually held nothing but a few green leaves, while everyone else enjoyed all kinds of delicious food.And so, whenever I was too hungry to sleep, I'd chug water frantically. If I filled my stomach enough, it could keep the hunger pangs away for a few hours.Every winter, all the other children had thick padded coats. I, on the other hand, only had a few thin jackets and short-sleeved shirts. I'd wear every piece of clothing

Third-Person POVSavannah's phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor with a loud thud. She scrambled to pick it up.Her voice trembled uncontrollably with panic, and it took several attempts before she could force out a complete sentence."Are you… Are you conspiring with Cole to trick me?"The staff member on the other end was used to these kinds of reactions. After all, it wasn't easy to accept the sudden death of someone they knew.He simply answered, "Please come as soon as possible so the boy can be laid to rest."After hanging up, Savannah drove straight to the morgue while calling her parents to inform them of the news.She reached the morgue in record time.Laid out in front of her was a corpse covered by a white sheet, with several staff members standing nearby.But she didn't dare step forward. She was terrified—terrified that it truly was Cole under that sheet.Seeing how frozen she was, one of the staff members stepped forward and pulled back the sheet for he