Take My Breath Away

Carlos had been nice to Debbie all this time, and she really couldn't die like this.

Her will to live was so strong that she found the strength to swim upwards again.

After what felt like an eternity, she could breathe again. She took several breaths and shouted for help. "Help me..." Her voice could hardly be heard. She grabbed onto one of the concrete supports of the bridge and hung on for dear life.

Many people gathered on the bridge, and more people were arriving. A first-aid team arrived as well.

The moment she emerged from the water, someone saw her. "Look! Someone's there!"

Debbie was too tired, and when her fingers slipped from the concrete and she sank into the water again, she heard several people jump into the river.

Her chest burned like fire. She had no strength left at all; she closed her eyes and stopped struggling.

'Carlos Huo, I'm sorry...' Then she lost consciousness.

Debbie was awakened by the cold. She blinked, but the light was so blinding that she closed her eyes to stop the headache she felt coming on.

She heard people talking in her ear. Opening her eyes slowly again, she saw the blue sky.

'Am I still alive?' she thought.

"She's awake!" said a strange voice. "Is the ambulance here? She woke up!"

"Girl, are you all right?"

Debbie nodded by instinct. But she felt very cold, both physically and mentally. She was shivering, and for some reason, she was getting hot flashes. She wasn't sure why.

Someone helped her to her feet. She then noticed that she was wearing a man's coat. It was part of a uniform and had patches on it as well as a name badge. It must belong to someone on the first-aid team. Underneath, she was still wearing her wet knit shirt.

She heard the ambulance approaching, and some men gathered around her when it arrived. She was bidden to lie down on a stretcher and was carried into the ambulance by several men.

In the hospital

Sitting on a bench in the corridor, Debbie looked up and down the intake hall. The wards were fully occupied, and even the hall itself was overflowing with patients. A nurse bound her head, and then set her up with an IV. The IV rack had wheels, so she could walk with it if she had to.

"Miss Nian, we need you to contact your family. They need to pay for your treatment!" the nurse demanded in a loud voice with a wad of test results in her hand.

Debbie was still not entirely with it, and

hing. At this moment, his phone rang, and it was Emmett calling.

They couldn't hear what Emmett said. Carlos just uttered a few words and then hung up.

Silence blanketed the office again. Megan walked towards Carlos, and coughed because of the acrid smell of tobacco. "Uncle Carlos, did you guys fight because of what happened that evening?" she asked in a concerned voice.

While shaking his head, Carlos stood up from his seat, walked past Megan and stood in front of Wesley. "Take care of Megan for me, okay? I need to deal with my wife. You know, she's tough."

'You don't want my baby, so you simply took the birth control pills. You think that will do? Certainly not! You'll have my baby if I want you to!

I won't let you go that easily.

You don't like Megan. Fine! I get that. I can ask Wesley, Damon and Curtis to take care of her, ' Carlos mused.

Upon hearing that, Wesley furrowed his eyebrows. "Did you fight because of Megan?" he asked.

"No, that's not it. She doesn't want to have my baby," answered Carlos. 'And she hasn't completely cut off relations with her ex.' But that was too embarrassing for Carlos to admit in front of his buddies.

The rest of them were rendered speechless.

Curtis walked towards the wine cabinet and took out a bottle of red wine. He poured everyone a glass of wine and asked casually, "Debbie is still a student. It's not a big deal if she doesn't want a kid now. Why fight about it?"

Damon nodded and patted Carlos' shoulder. "Does it bug you that I'm going to be a dad first?"

Carlos cast a murderous glance at him and said coldly, "Fuck off!"