+25 BONUS
Chapter 18
Josh had no time to deal with Duncan’s frantic shouting. He grabbed passersby, asking if anyone had seen Audrey, but every answer was the same–no one had seen her. In just a few short hours, it was as if Audrey had vanished Into thin air.
With no other choice, Duncan checked the security footage. The video showed Audrey, hands outstretched, struggling to move forward. Sometimes she bumped into trees, sometimes into people, all the while leaving a trail of blood behind her. The sight was like a knife slowly cutting through Duncan’s heart, piece by piece.
It was undeniable–she was really bleeding, and she really couldn’t see.
It was all true.
The footage showed Audrey making her way to the bus stop where she didn’t get on a bus but instead sat down behind the sign, unmoving. A crowd had gathered around her, and someone had called for an ambulance. But before it arrived, she had left. She refused everyone’s help.
Duncan rushed back to the bus stop and followed the direction in which Audrey had disappeared.
“Audrey! Where are you? Come out! You still owe me an explanation! I’ll believe you, I promise! Just come out and I’ll believe whatever you say!” Duncan’s voice cracked, his desperation clear. He had never felt so out of control, so afraid.
Audrey had betrayed him, lied to him, but he never imagined she might die, that she could disappear from this world. In the midst of the bustling crowd, he felt deafened by his own racing heart, as if it might explode at any second.
He kept telling himself over and over that Audrey wouldn’t die. She wouldn’t. She wouldn’t leave him. But just as his desperate self–reassurances started to unravel, Josh’s voice rang out from behind him.
“Call an ambulance! Hurry!”
Duncan turned to see Audrey lying on the ground, covered in blood. Josh was trying to hold her, but his hands shook, hesitating. People had gathered around, some already calling for help. Everything seemed to slow down, and Duncan could hear every painful beat of his heart, every shaky breath.
“Audrey, you can’t die. You still haven’t explained what happened a year ago. I want to hear it. If you explain, I’ll believe you. Please, just tell me again, okay?” Duncan knelt beside her, terrified that he was already too late.
He called her name again and again, but she didn’t respond.
For the first time, Duncan wept uncontrollably in front of her.
Hearing his sobs, Audrey slowly opened her heavy eyelids. She reached out her blood–stained hand and gently wiped away his tears, managing a weak smile. “Don’t… don’t cry. You won’t look handsome if you cry.”
Even in this moment, being able to see him and witness the man she loved crying for her brought Audrey a sense of happiness.
Duncan clutched her cold hand tightly, her skin icy as if life had already started to slip away. “Audrey, stop talking. It was all my fault before. Don’t leave me, okay? I’ll do anything, just don’t go.”
Tears streamed down Josh’s face as he watched. “Audrey, hold on. The ambulance is almost here. You’re going to be okay.”
“No,” Audrey whispered. “I know my body. I won’t make it. Thank you, Josh…. if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t. have lasted this long. I owe you in this life, and I’ll repay you in the next.” With that, she coughed up a mouthful
#25 BONUS
Chunter
15
of blood.
“No, you don’t owe me anything. Audrey, don’t talk. The ambulance is almost here. You’re going to be fine,” Josh pleaded, trying to hold back his despair.
