The Daughter She Refused to Save

For the sake of avoiding any appearance of favoritism, or perhaps just to avoid my dirty touch, Dr. Eleanor Vance, my mom, left me, severely injured from a car accident, in her office.

She turned to check on the other students, who only had minor scrapes but kept crying about how much it hurt.

The other doctors were urging her to check on me.

With my blood-soaked hand, I grabbed her arm, almost begging.

"Eleanor, I'm in so much pain. Please, don't go, okay?"

But Eleanor didn't even glance at me. She just flung my hand away.

"Lily Vance, don't touch me with your dirty hands. Don't you know I'm a germophobe?"

"Don't think you're getting special treatment just because you're my daughter!"

"Besides a little blood on your hand, you look fine. The others need me more than you do. Stop being dramatic and wait here!"

I watched Eleanor's retreating back in despair.

Suddenly, my throat tightened, my vision went black, and I spat out a pool of dark, clotted blood into the trash can.

Was I... dying?

I'm so sorry, Eleanor.

I don't think I can wait for you.

I floated out of my body and drifted towards Eleanor.

The piercing pain, like a truck had just run over my insides, was completely gone.

Before I could even feel relieved, I heard the voice of a little boy who had been on the school bus with me.

"Dr. Vance, if Lily says she's in pain, don't believe her. She's the biggest liar!"

Recognizing the boy's face, I immediately knew something was wrong.

After all, at school, he always bullied me and spread rumors about me.

Eleanor's expression grew serious. She crouched down, asking patiently.

"Little one, what do you mean by that? Has Lily been misbehaving at school, doing something bad?"

"Dr. Vance, she likes my best friend, but she lied to the teacher, saying my best friend bullied her! Oh, and she cheated on her tests!"

Eleanor's frown deepened.

"Lily Vance, you've really grown some nerve! Not only are you chasing after boys, but you dare to cheat and slander others!"

"I worked so hard raising you all these years, only to raise such an ungrateful wretch!"

No.

Eleanor, I didn't!

I never did any of those things. Eleanor, please don't believe him!

He's the one who's always bullying me!

I panicked instantly, rushing over, trying to grab Eleanor's hand to explain.

But I forgot I was dead. My hand just passed through empty air.

Eleanor looked furious. She quickly checked on the other students.

After seeing they had no major issues, she angrily took off her examination tools and stormed towards her office.

"You guys take care of these kids' injuries. I'm going to personally teach that disrespectful, ungrateful wretch a lesson. All she does is embarrass me!"

Leo's eyes lit up when he heard that. He immediately jumped off the hospital bed, yelling, and followed Eleanor.

"Time to watch the clown girl cry again! Clown girl, clown girl!"

The other kids heard him and, ignoring the nurses' protests, also jumped off their beds to join the commotion.

"Wait for us, I want to see too... I want to see the clown girl too!"

I'd been hearing "clown girl" for almost two years.

On my first day of elementary school, Eleanor had publicly announced her position as the hospital director.

She even left her private number so people could contact her directly for appointments.

And to avoid any appearance of favoritism, no matter what illness I had, she made me buy medicine myself.

Only when I was very seriously ill would she take me to the hospital.

All the kids in class knew that my mom didn't seem to love me.

Because even though I had a director for a mother, I was always sick, looking frail and sickly all the time.

"Clown girl" was the nickname Leo gave me.

He started bullying me every day after that.

Eleanor stormed into the office shortly after, kicking the door open with her foot. Her face was dark as she shouted my name.

"Lily Vance! Get over here!"

"I've been busy saving lives, and I forgot to discipline you. Now you've really become bold!"

But I, who was always timid and obedient in front of Eleanor, surprisingly didn't respond.

I was still sitting on that cold chair, my head tilted to one side, my whole body hanging precariously, as if about to fall.

When Eleanor saw me like this, the anger in her eyes intensified.

She rushed over and shoved me hard.

My body, from the inertia, slammed onto the nearby desk like a rag doll.

"Lily Vance, I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?!"

"You just bled a few drops, don't pretend to be dead here! Get up right now!"

Crying, I quickly floated to Eleanor, shedding non-existent tears, desperately waving my ghostly hands at her.

"Eleanor, I'm here, look at me..."

"That's my body. I'm already dead..."

Just then, Leo rushed in. Seeing my blood-covered hands, he shouted.

"Dr. Vance, Lily's blood must be fake! We didn't bleed at all, why is she the only one?"

"She must have put it on herself!"

"No, Eleanor, don't believe him!"

"That's all the blood I coughed up..."

But Eleanor believed him. She glared at me fiercely.

"Lily Vance, do you think doing this will make me give you special treatment?!"

"How can your mind be so twisted? Do you know how much effort I put in to stand in this position?"

"Are you trying to ruin me? Are you? Answer me! Are you mute?!"

"No! Eleanor, I never thought that!"

"I really wanted to talk to you!"

"But I was too useless..."

"I couldn't hold on until you came."

"Fine! Lily Vance, you're just great!"

"I see you're determined to..."

Eleanor's words were cut short by Nurse Chloe, who rushed over.

"Dr. Vance, your daughter's complexion doesn't look right. You can discipline your child anytime, but why don't you check on her first? What if something serious happened..."

"Check what? She has perfectly good arms and legs. Did you see her bump or bruise anywhere?"

"She's just throwing a tantrum because I didn't see her first. That's why she's deliberately ignoring me!"

"Even a child can see through it, why can't you?"

Nurse Chloe took half a step back after Eleanor yelled at her and didn't say anything more.

"Lily Vance, someone just stood up for you. Are you happy? Go ahead and smile! Why are you still pretending to be dead?"

Eleanor, I'm not happy at all.

I want to cry so badly.

But I'm already dead. I don't even have the right to shed tears.

Eleanor's patience quickly ran out. She lunged forward and grabbed my collar, only to find my body soft like a sheet of paper.

She paused for a moment, then sneered.

"Heh. You're quite good at pretending. You love to act, don't you? Then I'll beat you until you stop!"

Eleanor said, raising her hand and giving me a harsh slap.

She let go.

My body fell straight onto the cold floor like a dead fish.

*Thud*, the sound was not small.

I lay face down on the ground, still motionless.

"Hahahaha... Look everyone, the clown girl looks so ugly like this!"

"Ugh, even her mom hates her! I told you I was right, she's just a clown girl!"

"That's not true!"

I rushed to them, trying to argue.

"Eleanor doesn't hate me. She just doesn't want me to affect her work. She loves me..."

But as I spoke, my voice faded.

I just realized.

Ever since Eleanor became the hospital director two years ago, she hadn't taken me to the amusement park in a long time, nor did she tell me bedtime stories anymore.

Every time I held her hand, wanting to spend more time with her, she would find all sorts of excuses to refuse me.

"I said we need to avoid favoritism, so we have to be thorough. It's the same at home; don't let anyone see!"

"I told you not to call me Mom at the hospital. I'm not your mom here; I'm the hospital director, do you understand, the director?"

...

Those painful memories flooded back.

Even though I was dead.

My heart, which no longer beat, felt like it had been brutally stabbed, bleeding with pain.

"Lily Vance, this is a hospital, not a place for your antics!"

"I have many more appointments scheduled later. Can't you be more sensible? How long are you going to keep faking death?!"

Eleanor crouched down, yanked my hair, and pulled me up.

But she saw dark blood mixed with my saliva flowing from my mouth.

It dripped onto her clean hand.

During the car accident, I was thrown out of the window, my body caught under the vehicle and actually run over by the wheels.

My internal organs were severely damaged. I had been spitting blood the entire way to the hospital.

Eleanor had germophobia, and I was afraid she would say I was dirty if she saw it, so I caught it all with my hands.

Even though I was dead now, after such a huge impact, the blood accumulated in my chest still slowly flowed out of my mouth.

"Ahso gross, Lily Vance is so big, how is she still drooling? So shameful!"

"She looks so ugly, so scary, like a monster!"

Many children who saw me like this ran away in fright.

Some family members passing by outside the door squeezed in to take a look.

"Oh my God, what happened to this kid? She looks like she's dying. What are these doctors even doing..."

"What kind of shady hospital is this? Who just stands there and abuses someone who's spitting blood instead of rushing to save them?"

"I heard that woman is the director of this hospital. I can't believe how she got the job."

"Shut up, all of you, shut up!"

"She's clearly faking it! Don't spread rumors before you know the facts!"

Eleanor listened to those voices, so angry she shoved me again.

She didn't notice at all that I had no breath left.

"Lily Vance, are you happy now? You've ruined my reputation, are you satisfied?!"

"Don't think I don't know you had a blood packet in your mouth!"

"Besides, there were 18 people in that car, all of you riding together. Everyone else is fine, so why are you the only one looking half-dead?!"

"Eleanor, I didn't..."

"Look at me carefully again, Eleanor, I'm dead! I'm really dead!"

I never wanted to affect your work.

These past few years, I've quietly persevered, even when my throat hurt so much I couldn't speak, even when I was so dizzy I couldn't walk.

I never complained to you once.

But this time, I really couldn't hold on anymore.

I was in so much pain.

Even though I'm dead now, I still clearly remember.

How much it hurt when those big wheels ran over me.

"Lily Vance, you're truly disgusting."

Eleanor pulled a few tissues from the desk and wiped her hands.

"Why didn't you just get run over and die like your animal of a father?"

"Why do you have to keep tormenting me?"

Eleanor was talking about my father, whom I had never met.

He died in a car accident before I was born.

Eleanor hated him so much because he had an affair with another woman while she was pregnant.

Afterward, whenever she mentioned Dad, she would say it was his just deserts.

But Eleanor, I really did die in this car accident.

Only, unlike Dad, I never called another woman "Mom." I didn't betray you.

Leo still hadn't left.

Seeing that I remained unresponsive even after being hit, he approached me with curiosity.

After all, every time he bullied me at school or badmouthed me, I would always stand up and fight back.

Though the outcome was always the same.

"Clown girl, stop faking it! I know you're fine!"

He said, reaching out to push me, but my head suddenly tilted, and all that blood smeared onto his hand.

"AhLily Vance, how could you be so gross? You did that on purpose!"

Eleanor heard the noise and quickly turned around. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Dr. Vance, Lily bit me! Look at my hand, she bit me until it bled!"

"What?"

Eleanor lunged forward again, grabbing my collar tightly, and delivered another slap.

"Lily Vance, you finally couldn't keep up the act! And you dare to bite people? I'll beat you to death!"

Eleanor, please stop hitting me.

I didn't!

He's lying!

I didn't bite him at all. I'm already dead!

Half a minute later, a woman burst in.

She picked up Leo, saying with concern.

"Son, I finally found you! Are you okay?"

"What happened? There's so much blood on your hand!"

Leo, red-eyed, choked with sobs, said.

"Mom, she bullied me. She bit me just now..."

The woman saw me and was instantly furious. She walked over and savagely kicked my body.

My body rolled a few times inwards before stopping.

After doing all this, she immediately pulled out her phone.

"I'm calling the police right now! How dare you hurt my son? I'll make sure you pay for this!"

Eleanor, meanwhile, looked at me like I was trash, not saying a word.

"Oh my God, this child, at such a young age, has such a malicious mind. I thought... I thought she was dead just now."

"I've truly lived long enough to see everything. Faking death? I've never seen anyone in such a hurry to die!"

"I didn't... I really didn't..."

That little boy is a liar!

He's lying!

But no matter how I tried to explain, no one believed me.

There were many police stations near the hospital.

Within a few minutes, the police arrived.

Seeing the police, the woman lifted Leo's arm and began to accuse me of my supposed crimes.

"Officer, this little monster just bit my son!"

"Quickly check her! See if she has rabies or some kind of madness! What if she's ruined my son?!"

The officer understood the situation and, thinking I was a special patient, even put on gloves.

He crouched down and, after finding no response from me despite calling out, his expression grew solemn.

The woman behind him continued to complain.

"Officer, have you confirmed it? If she really has some disease, you need to contact her family quickly and make them pay for my son's medical expenses!"

But the officer just asked coldly.

"You just said, this little girl bit your son?"

"Yes," the woman grew agitated, "Just a few minutes ago! What kind of police are you? Don't you know how to do your job?"

"This is ridiculous!"

"This little girl looks like she's been dead for almost an hour! How could she possibly bite your son?!"

"Don't you know making a false report is a crime?!"