Take My Breath Away

Carlos continued, "Megan was only twelve at the time and she watched her parents die. The horror was too much for even Wesley and me to bear, let alone for her, who was only a little girl. Stimulated by what had happened in front of her, her asthma had come back. She was taken to hospital soon enough to just save her life. It was a painful day for everyone. She could have died that day..."

Imagining the horrible scene, which was even difficult for a tough guy like Carlos to describe, Debbie immediately felt sympathetic towards Megan.

She now thought that Carlos had done the right thing by saving the girl this time, though he had gotten himself badly wounded.

Debbie banished all the negative feelings in her heart and said, "I'll go check if the doctor has come." Then she turned and walked towards the door.

Carlos didn't stop her. He slowly passed out as Debbie walked down the stairs.

A few minutes later, Debbie came back to the room with the doctor at her heels. As she saw the man lying there, motionless, his eyes closed, her body went stiff with uncontrollable fear. She ran over to the bed to check on him, and she saw that the bed was soaked with the blood from his wounds. "Car...Carlos," she called. Tears welled up in her eyes the minute Carlos' name escaped her lips.

"Wake up! Please don't scare me like this."

She patted his face softly, trying to wake him up. "I'll be good. I'll attend all the classes you've arranged for me. I'll do everything you've asked me to do. Just wake up. Please!" she begged.

Carlos' eyes slowly fluttered open. Looking at the wailing girl by his bedside, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Really?"

Debbie stopped crying and nodded repeatedly. She sighed, relieved to hear his voice. "Yes, I promise. Just don't go passing out on me again, okay?"

The doctor got everything ready for his immediate treatment. "Mr. Huo, I'll stop the bleeding first," he said, swiftly getting to work on Carlos' wounds.

A trace of smile appeared on Carlos' pale face when he looked at Debbie's tear-stained face. "Be a good girl now and don't cry anymore. Wait for me outside, all right?"

To get out of the doctor's way so that he could efficiently do his job without any disturbances, she left the room quietly and waited outside.

Strong feelings surged inside her which she felt she had to share. Too anxious to wait to see her friends in person, Debbie decided to talk to them on the phone right away. She typed a confession into her message box. "I think I have fallen for Carlos Huo."

Kristina was the first to respond. "Isn't that q

She was worried if it would lead to some trouble for Carlos if the news of his injury was leaked. But she also believed that her friends wouldn't betray her.

"Isn't he on a business trip?" Debbie's friends asked in unison. They all knew that Carlos had gone on a business trip two months ago.

"He came back out of the blue. And to my surprise he told me he saw my performance. I wonder how." She mused if he had gone to her school to see the performance.

Yet considering the depth of his injury, it seemed unlikely.

"Tomboy, after watching you dance, I really think that Mr. Huo has done all this for your own good. He has turned you into such an elegant, glowing woman," Kristina said, proudly.

"What?! Elegant and glowing? Really? Are you talking about me? Come on!"

Debbie was surprised that her friends thought of her that way.

Kasie agreed gladly with Kristina on that. She said, "Kris is right. Moreover, your skin is much better now too. Your hands used to be rough and covered in calluses. But the last time I held your hand, it was soft and smooth like silk. And that time in the bathroom, I saw that your skin had become fairer and rosy. I almost drooled all over you."

Debbie blushed at her comments. "Okay, stop! Don't talk about all that stuff with the boys here. Delete it!" Debbie demanded.

Kasie immediately deleted her messages. But Jared posted a Grinning Face emoji and said, "Too late. I already saw it. Tomboy, next time we meet, let's take a bath together. I want to see how good your skin really is."

"Back off! Wait until I tell Carlos about that comment."

Jared was terrified and deleted that message immediately. "My mistake. Please forget that I even said it," he pleaded.