It was dark outside when Kayla walked through the door and closed it behind her.
When she turned around, she saw Kyle wrapped tightly in a blanket, looking like he was on the verge of expiration.
"Hey. Where's Mum?" she asked as she moved toward him.
"Out," he muttered, his voice gritty.
"How are you feeling?" Her hands reached for his forehead.
"I'm fine." He swatted her hands away.
She pulled them back—then fought him anyway. He was weak.
"You're burning up," she said sharply, yanking the blanket from him.
"I'm fine."
"You look like you're about to take your last breath. Don't fight me—go bathe." She tried to pull him up, but he remained stubbornly glued to the couch.
She huffed and went to get a bowl and towel. After wetting it, she wiped his face and neck, then placed it gently on his forehead.
"Have you taken your meds?"
"Yeah."
"Have you eaten—"
"Breaking news! Tonight, following a pediatric neurosurgery incident at Saint Katharine's Medical Centre—"
Kayla whipped around so fast her neck nearly snapped.
The screen cut to familiar footage.
Claudia Montez—flawless and glowing—was dusting off a woman's clothes, her expression solemn and magnanimous.
The caption beneath the video read:
Rising Star Surgeon Offers Hope
"Is that you?" Kyle asked, smacking her lightly with the wet towel.
"Hm."
The clip changed. Red banners. Angry voices shouting over one another.
"…Sources confirm the procedure required emergency intervention after severe complications were observed during a live-observed surgery…"
"Where's your phone?" Kayla asked, already reaching for it.
She went online immediately. Claudia's post was everywhere—and so were the reactions. Medical professionals dissecting the failure. Strangers raging on behalf of the child. Others condemning her simply because everyone else was.
Kayla let out a small, incredulous chuckle.
"What happened?" Kyle asked, curiosity leaking from every pore.
"Nothing." She didn't look up. "I'm going to bed."
"Try it. I'll follow you there—and if I die on the way, know you're responsible," he threatened, shuffling as if to stand.
Kayla rolled her eyes. "Stop."
"No, let me die," he retorted, still shuffling but going nowhere.
She exhaled. "I did something… and I don't know how to tell you."
Kyle froze. "Are you keeping a secret from me?"
"I'm trying to keep a secret from you," she said, smiling at his expression. "Fine. But don't get mad."
"I won't. You know I won't."
"Okay. You know Dr. Brice?"
"Your supervisor," Kyle said, sitting up straighter.
"He bullies me. And he—"
"Wait, what?" Kyle snapped, sickness forgotten.
"You promised you wouldn't get mad," Kayla sulked.
"At you. I'm mad at that—"
"Let me finish," she cut in. "I won't repeat that part again. He forced me to perform a surgery he couldn't do, so I could be a scapegoat."
"The bastard," Kyle swore.
Kayla swallowed, his reaction stirring both anger and grief.
"So I did the surgery. And I broke the promise we made to Dad in the process."
Kyle's expression darkened.
"I know I shouldn't have," she continued. "But it was either I do it, or I face punishment I didn't deserve. The surgery was a success—of course it was—but he gave the credit to another doctor."
She pointed at the TV and laughed bitterly.
Kyle swore again. She ignored it.
"Today, she came to warn me to stay quiet. Then she got ambushed—students,reporters and a desperate mother who wanted her to operate on her son. She accepted. And they tried to make me do the surgery again."
She paused, breathing.
"I agreed at first. But I promised a friend I'd stop letting them walk all over me. Then I remembered thatother doctors would be watching—that someone would step in if needed. I couldn't expose myself to the world any more than I already had."
Her voice cracked.
"So I didn't go in. I walked away."
She looked at Kyle, bracing herself.
"Say something," she demanded.
"When I get better," he said slowly, eyes distant, "I want a little talk with Brice."
"Are you mad?"
He snapped back to her. "Not at you. Never at you. I understand. And I think Dad would too. Did you really think I'd judge you for choosing to save yourself—and still give someone a second chance at life?"
Kayla tried to smile it off but failed. She broke down crying.
She'd endured the bullying because she thought she could handle it alone. Because she didn't want to burden him. Because she believed it would stop if she just gave in.
And she'd stayed quiet about the surgery because she was afraid he'd be angry for breaking their promise.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed, collapsing into him.
"It's fine," he said, patting her back. "Just don't keep anything else to yourself."
Kayla didn't respond.
"What happened to her now?" he asked.
A smile slipped free. "She messed up in the OR. Someone had to take over—exactly what I counted on. She's been suspended from practice and is being sued for a hundred million."
"Good," Kyle said. "I hope she gets everything that's coming."
Kayla laughed. "If they dig deeper, they'll find out she never performed most of the surgeries she claimed."
"That's insane. How did she even become a surgeon?"
Kayla shrugged. "As long as she stops disturbing me."
Kyle pushed her off the couch with his leg when she tried to squeeze in beside him.
"What will you do next?"
"I don't know," she said from the floor, glaring. "I'll stay away for a week or two. Let things settle."
"And when you go back," he said, dropping the towel into the bowl, "don't let anyone walk all over you again."
"I won't."
He hesitated. "By the way… which friend did you talk to before me?"
Kayla's heart skipped.
"You don't know him," she said lightly.
"Him?!" Kyle shouted.
This time, Kayla laughed—genuinely.