"Mr. Crawley!"
Grace was scared out of her wits, hastily reaching out to steady him, but before her hand even touched his arm, Brandon brushed her off.
He leaned against the wall, the hand holding the phone pressed tightly against his chest. But he didn't switch off the phone; instead, he masochistically reread Sophia's letter.
Grace saw the fresh blood on the corner of his mouth and the droplets slowly falling to the floor. She got all flustered and fumbled out her phone to call Kent.
"Kent, it's bad, really bad. Mr. Crawley just...he suddenly coughed up a ton of blood. You need to come quick."
She was stumbling over her words, completely incoherent.
Kent had just gotten home and barely stepped through the door when Grace's call came through with the news that Brandon had coughed up blood. It shocked him so much he spun around, grabbed the car keys he'd just put down, and hurried out the door, peppering Grace with questions, "I'm on my way now. How's Mr. Crawley doing? Did you call an ambulance?"
"Not yet. Should we call one?" Grace was so panicked she could hardly think straight, instinctively turning to Brandon who was still propped up against the wall with one hand, pressing his chest with the other, fixated on Sophia's message on his phone.
"Switch to video call," Kent instructed calmly.
"Okay."
Grace, shaking all over, managed to switch to video mode and turned the camera towards Brandon.
"Brandon, Brandon?"
Kent called out Brandon's name urgently, "Are you okay?"
But there was no response. Brandon seemed oblivious, his body sagging against the wall, his eyes still unblinkingly fixed on the letter Sophia had left behind.
The phone screen was small, and Kent couldn't make out the content of the letter. He shouted at Brandon, trying to snap him out of it, "Brandon, think about Theresa. What's she going to do if you go down too?"
Still, Brandon didn't react. Kent could only see the blood that hadn't been wiped from his mouth continuing to drip onto the floor, a harrowing sight.
Kent had no choice but to turn back to Grace, "Grace, call an ambulance now. Make sure he's okay, and if anything seems off, get in touch with a doctor immediately."
"Alright, got it."
Grace, her hands still trembling, hung up and hurriedly went to call an ambulance. Before she could finish, she saw Brandon's tall frame slide powerlessly to the ground.
"Mr. Crawley!"
Theresa suddenly woke from her sleep, clutching the teddy bear Sophia had given her, slid off the bed, and walked towards the door.
Kent was halfway there when he got another call from Grace telling him that Brandon had been taken to the hospital.
Kent immediately rerouted to the hospital and upon arrival, he saw Brandon being wheeled into the emergency room, who was still clutching Sophia's phone in his hand despite already in a coma.
Theresa had also come to the hospital, holding the teddy bear Sophia gave her tightly, her hair disheveled, her eyes wide open and lost.
Kent felt a pang of sorrow as he approached and squatted down to gently hug her, whispering in her ear, "Don't be scared, Theresa. Daddy's going to be okay."
Theresa just stared at him blankly, silent.
The emergency room doors that had closed were pulled open, and the doctor came out, "Who is the patient's family?"
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