“Uh-huh.” Nana took a deep breath and nodded. She didn’t know how to face Carl now, but she wasn’t prepared to meet him at all.
She didn’t even turn around until the door closed.
Carl didn’t know how he walked out of the hotel. Every step he took felt heavy as if he was carrying lead. He couldn’t stop thinking about Nana’s words about getting an abortion for their child. He sat in his car, feeling lost and devastated, ready to drive back to the set.
But even on the road, his mind was elsewhere. Unconsciously, tears welled up in his eyes as he tried to avoid oncoming traffic or other cars ahead of him.
Nana’s image kept appearing in Carl’s mind along with her refusal earlier. He felt both pained and helpless at once. Suddenly distracted by these thoughts, Carl lost control of his car and crashed into a stone bridge railing with a loud bang.
Bang –
After a deafening sound, the once black sedan collided with the railing, creating a swirl of gray disgust. Even the windows and the front of the car were in shambles. Carl, covered in blood, lay collapsed in the driver’s seat. His face was a bloody mess, and he could barely keep his eyes open.
As his eyelids grew heavier, Carl could only rely on his fading consciousness to crack his eyes open a bit. His trembling fingers fumbled to find his phone in his pocket.
His thumb shook slightly as he dialed Nana’s number and brought the phone to his ear. Carl felt his consciousness fading, but he kept silently repeating Nana’s name.
“Hello,” the call connected, and Nana’s voice came through the receiver. It was calm but subtly tired upon closer inspection. “Are you looking for me?”
“Nana…” Carl managed a weak smile, his voice noticeably feeble. He was struggling to keep going.
Blood dripped from his forehead, staining the phone with crimson. Nana sensed something was wrong as she heard the man’s voice, but she didn’t realize it herself.
“What’s happening? Where are you? You – ” Nana’s words were cut off by Carl.
“Nana, listen to me… I, I have something here, and maybe I won’t make it. I’m sorry for what happened before.”
With each word, Carl felt intense pain in his chest. His consciousness was slipping away, and he felt like he was about to close his eyes, yet he kept pushing himself.
“I… I don’t know how much longer I can hold on, but I called you to tell you… I, I truly love you. But…”
“If… if I really die, then please… please get rid of the baby. I think… I should respect your decision, Nana. I’m sorry…”
Carl’s voice grew weaker and weaker; he thought he couldn’t hold on anymore.
His hand went limp and dropped heavily; the phone fell to the ground.
He heard the woman’s anxious voice from the receiver, “Hello? Carl, where are you? Say something, Carl?”
Nana slowly felt that something was wrong; her eyebrows furrowed tightly and even her voice became anxious as she spoke into the phone but there was no response from Carl.
She had no choice but to hang up and instinctively grabbed her coat before rushing out to find out where Carl was.
The tension she felt was something she had not even noticed herself.
After leaving the hotel, Nana drove along the route to trace Carl’s whereabouts. When she reached the bridge where the accident occurred, she saw Carl’s car.
However, it was now completely wrecked.
Nana’s pupils constricted. She quickly parked her car on the side, rushed out, and ran towards the scene. As she reached the front of the car, she saw Carl unconscious, covered in blood.
His phone was still in an active call.
She was completely shocked. Trying to steady herself, panic still gleamed in her eyes. With trembling fingertips, she slapped Carl’s face, and blood stained his denim jacket with dark imprints.
Nana’s voice trembled, “Carl, wake up! Wake up!”
The man didn’t respond at all so Nana carefully probed for his breath then breathed a sigh of relief when it came back normal again.
She quickly took out her mobile phone and dialed 911 while anxiously surveying their location before speaking rapidly into it, “There has been an accident here! Can you come quickly? Someone is dying here…”
After hanging up on 911, Nana finally relaxed a bit but seeing how bad off Carl looked made her heart ache again.
She felt a sense of self-blame.
If she hadn’t just mentioned going through with the abortion, perhaps Carl wouldn’t have had the car accident. How could it turn out like this? It was all because of her, because of her…
Nana grabbed Carl’s hand in a panic, not caring about the blood all over his hands. Her eyes turned red as tears streamed down her face due to the shock. She even reached out and touched Carl’s cheek.
“Carl… I’m sorry, it wasn’t intentional. Please wake up, the ambulance is coming soon. You have to hold on,” she said incoherently.
Carl seemed to sense something or maybe hearing Nana’s voice helped him regain some willpower.
“Nana… Nana, why are you here?” he asked weakly.
“Carl, Carl!” Nana’s eyes were blurry with tears. When she heard his voice, she widened her eyes and held both of Carl’s hands tightly. “You have to hold on; I’ve already called the hospital and an ambulance is coming.”
Everything went black for Carl; he didn’t know if he could hold on any longer but hearing Nana’s voice made him try his best to speak softly.
“I… I want you to know that I really love you… Don’t joke around with your body or get rid of our baby…” He struggled through each word.
“I won’t get rid of our baby; don’t worry about that,” Nana sobbed uncontrollably as she never expected such a consequence from her impulsive decision.
Seeing that Carl was about to lose consciousness again, Nana shouted urgently, “Carl! Don’t sleep! Hold on!”
The sound of an ambulance siren could be heard nearby while headlights shone towards them. Quickly turning around and waving frantically at them while shouting, “Over here! We’re over here!”
The ambulance quickly arrived, and several doctors and nurses swiftly got out. They lifted Carl onto a stretcher, and Nana, regardless of her blood-stained hands, hurriedly got into the ambulance as well.