Chapter 3

3 "Danny, what are you doing here? I was worried sick. I thought you..."

Mom choked up, hugging me tight. "I can't let anything happen to you again!"

She glanced at my sister, telling her to say something.

My sister picked up her phone, acting excited.

"Danny, I just talked to the experts overseas. Their medical team is already here in LA. We can do the surgery right now!"

I looked at them coldly.

Now that I almost died, they think fixing my hands won’t get in Ryan's way.

I didn’t want their charity.

"Mom, forget it."

Mom said anxiously, "Danny, doing the surgery now will give you the best chance of using your hands normally in the future. Otherwise, you’ll be disabled for life."

I shook my head.

She was about to say something, but my sister ran over, beaming. "Mom, Ryan's here!"

Mom looked happy. "Danny, your friend's here to see you. I’ll take you to the room."

She didn't even ask how I felt, pushing me towards the hospital room.

I felt heavy.

Ryan was the kid Mom was sponsoring, her love child.

I didn't know how Dad found out about it, but I knew she had been seeing him for a long time.

Ryan was always saying I was bullying him at school. How could he care about me?

"Danny, you okay? Everyone's worried. They asked me to come check on you."

Ryan started faking concern as soon as he walked in.

I saw that he brought a basketball.

My hands were useless. Even after surgery, I would barely be able to handle daily life.

I could never play basketball again.

Noticing where I was looking, Ryan apologized. "Sorry, I forgot about your hands. I'm so sorry you can't play basketball anymore, I didn't mean to."

But he did mean it.

"Hey… can I talk to Danny alone?"

Ryan looked innocent, all sweetness and light.

Mom wasn't going to say no. "Sure, you cheer him up."

As soon as they left, Ryan dropped the act.

He looked me up and down, a smile on his face.

"Who would've thought, the great Danny Sawyer, all washed up?"

I glared at him. "I’m still better than you, you bastard."

Ryan glared at me. “What about me, you ask? Mom's one true love is my dad!"

"Doesn't matter. You’ve been in the shadows for years."

Ryan stared me down, then laughed.

"Danny, you don't know, do you? Mom hired those thugs to hurt you, and your sister posted those videos on the school forums."

"When you were getting tortured, calling Mom and your sister for help? They were helping me find my dog!"

"You're not worth as much as my dog.

"If I were you, I'd just die. I'd get out of the way…"

He wanted me to get angry.

I had already died inside.

"I'll leave. If you want my spot, take it."

Ryan chuckled. "Danny, I aced the tryouts and already got accepted to the sports academy. As for you… you're gonna be crippled for life."

"But that’s not enough. I want Mom and your sister to hate you!"

He pulled out a knife and stabbed himself in the hand.

Ryan whispered in my ear, "Mom only wanted to scare you. I paid them extra to make you suffer."