She's Not Worthy of Being Human

At that moment, all I could focus on was getting her to the hospital.

The doc had warned that Charles might not pull through, and Emily was the only hope for Margaret.

My ego was totally irrelevant right now.

I bolted over to stop Emily, desperation cracking my voice. "I swear I'm not lying! Your mom and dad are in deep trouble. Please, just come with me."

She looked skeptical, so I pulled out my phone with trembling hands.

"Don't believe me? I'll call your colleague right this second!"

Emily's eyes sparked with anger. "If it were true, I would have heard by now!"

I wanted to explain that her phone was off—how could anyone reach her?

But before I could speak up, Matt interjected.

He scoffed, "Run out of tall tales, have you? Look, I know you're green with envy because Emily's here with me. We're just buddies, dude. You don't need to go all psycho ex on us."

"Come on, be a bigger man! Acting all petty and jealous will just push her further away!"

"Playing dirty with her folks' lives? That's just vile."

He stood there, arms crossed, looking down his nose at me as if he had moral high ground.

But he was the last person to preach.

"Mind your own business! This is between my wife and me!" Anger bubbled over, and I lost all pretense of calm.

Anger bubbled over, and I lost all pretense of calm.

A reasonable guy would have zipped it by now, but Matt? No chance.

He turned to Emily, putting on a victim's face. "See, Emily? I was spot on about him."

Emily's face turned stormy.

"What's with you? Why can't you just back off? I just wanted to unwind with Matt, and you're making a mountain out of a molehill!"

"I've been slammed at work, finally got a break, and I can't chill with a friend?"

"Ever heard of giving space? Matt's just being decent, and you're treating him like trash. Is this how you treat people?"

She was all up in my face, her finger nearly poking my nose.

I didn't have time to argue, not with Charles and Margaret hanging by a thread.

I pushed down the rising turmoil inside.

Sweating, I wiped my brow and pleaded in a low voice, "They're in the ER—your parents. Are you really gonna ignore them for a drink?"

Emily paused, seeming to catch the sincerity in my voice.

"Emily, look, it's our old school friends!"

Matt pointed excitedly at a nearby restaurant.

Through the large glass windows, a couple inside noticed them and waved.

"What are the odds? Haven't seen them in ages. Let's catch up!"

Emily started to leave, but I grabbed her, desperate.

"We're running out of time! I'm not lying! Your parents are waiting for you. You're their only kid—don't miss saying goodbye to your dad, don't just watch your mom pass away!"

Matt was relentless, his tone icy. "Steve, you done with your drama? Enough already!"

He started pulling Emily away.

She chose him without a second thought.

The thought of Charles and Margaret potentially dying alone crushed me. Tears flooded my eyes, and I dropped to my knees.

"Emily, if I'm lying, let the sky fall on me! Please, let's go to the hospital. I'm begging you!"