Michelle

Chapter Ten: Faint and Hopeful

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(REVISED VERSION)

IT was a week before Christmas, and Michelle emerged from her bedroom, rubbing her eyes as she walked down the stairs. When she reached the living room, she saw her brother Kevin decorating the Christmas tree that their mother had bought last year.

"Kevin, why are you decorating the house?" she asked as she came closer to the tree.

He turned to her with a smile. "Well, it's the holiday season, isn't it? We should get in the spirit."

Michelle nodded, grabbing a box of ornaments from the table. "I should help you, then."

As they worked on the tree, Kevin excused himself to make two mugs of hot chocolate. Michelle continued to decorate when she noticed her phone buzzing on the coffee table. She picked it up to see an unregistered number on the screen.

"Hello? Who's this?" she answered.

"Hello there, sweetie pie," a voice responded.

Michelle's body tensed as she recognized the voice. "Why don't you just leave me alone, Zach?"

He chuckled on the other end of the line. "Leave you? Tell me, Michelle, do I have to threaten you again that having such a stubborn attitude will only make me so, so mad?"

Michelle's eyes welled up with tears, but she held her ground. "I don't care. I'm not your puppet, so stop your craziness over me."

"Look who's finally so tough right now! Try me, Michelle. You'll only regret it in the end," Zach threatened.

Michelle's eyes darted around the room, wondering if there were any hidden cameras installed by Zach. She gritted her teeth and looked for any signs of surveillance.

Meanwhile, Kevin returned to the living room with the hot chocolate. He noticed Michelle holding his phone and asked, "Hey, what are you doing with my cellphone, Michelle?"

Zach's voice echoed through the phone. "Try me, Michelle... I'll be watching you."

Feeling caught, Michelle stumbled for an excuse. "Oh, Kevin! Well, I thought I heard your phone ringing. I must be hearing things that don't exist, you know."

Kevin raised an eyebrow but didn't press the matter. He sat down beside Michelle and handed her a mug of hot chocolate.

As they drank, Michelle felt a sense of dread building inside of her. She couldn't keep the secret from Kevin any longer. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could say anything, she suddenly felt lightheaded and dizzy.

"Michelle?" Kevin asked, concerned, as he saw her sway on the spot.

Michelle's vision blurred and before she knew it, the world went black, and she collapsed onto the rug. Kevin quickly called for an ambulance, and Michelle was rushed to the hospital.

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Michelle found herself surrounded by stark white walls as the antiseptic scent of the hospital filled her nostrils. Blinking, she quickly realized where she was. Her brother had brought her to the hospital after she had fainted.

She coughed, and her brother handed her a glass of water, which she eagerly drank down. After flashing him a weak smile, she asked, "Thank you. Why am I here?"

Her brother's eyes softened as he reached for her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You fainted earlier, so I brought you to the hospital. You had me worried sick. Tell me, what's going on with you?"

Michelle shook her head and chose to remain silent for his sake. She had lost her parents before and the thought of losing her brother as well made her realize that it would be best to keep it all inside.

As Kevin's phone rang, she moved to the side, pretending not to listen. He answered it and said, "Hey, what's up? ...Yeah, actually I'm here in the hospital. Uh-huh. Okay, sure. Talk to you later, bye."

When he hung up, Michelle turned to face him and saw a wide grin on his face. Furrowing her brows and squinting her eyes, she asked, "Who's that?"

Kevin raised his eyebrows and diverted his eyes to hers. "Oh! Were you listening earlier? I thought you were resting."

She shook her head and sat up from the bed slowly. "Was it... Nathan?"

She saw a glimmer in her brother's eyes, and she hoped it was him. However, she told herself not to think about impossible things. After what she had done to Nathan, she expected him to hate her for being rude.

Kevin smiled and chuckled with a tight-pressed lip. "Don't stress yourself, Michelle! It's not him, okay? Just a co-worker."

She couldn't bring herself to admit to Kevin that she had been hoping it was Nathan on the phone. Instead, she decides to tease her brother a little.

"A co-worker, huh? Is she cute?" Michelle asks, grinning mischievously.

Kevin rolls his eyes, knowing exactly where this conversation is headed. "Yes, she's cute, but that's not the point. We're just friends."

"Uh-huh, just friends," Michelle says, winking at him. "I'm sure she's just dying to be more than friends with you."

Kevin laughs and shakes his head. "You're impossible, Michelle. You know that?"

Michelle grins, feeling a little better now that they're back to their usual banter. She knows she needs to focus on getting better and moving on from Nathan, but it's nice to have a little distraction from her worries.

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