If the Sun Has Faded Away (UNDER REWRITING)

Chapter 31: If I Lose You...

I clung to her limp body with all my strength.
"Lucy! Please! Please look at me!"

No matter how many times I screamed her name, begging her to wake up, her eyes remained closed. Tears streamed down my cheeks, blinding me.

She's gone, John...

"No!!"
A desperate scream tore from my lips.

She can't be dead! I can't lose her!

Suddenly, my mind went blank. The world around me ceased to exist. My lungs felt deprived of air; in that split second, I could no longer breathe. A wave of searing pain coursed through me.

I let out a cry—not from physical pain, but from the gut-wrenching realization that Lucy was slipping away.

"John?"

I stuttered as a hand rested on my shoulder.
Relief washed over me when I turned to see Mimi kneeling beside me.

"Mimi..." My voice was trapped in my throat.
"Lucy... She's..."
Gone.

That horrifying thought strangled my voice with tears. An expression of pure horror spread across Aunt Mimi's face as her gaze fell upon Lucy's lifeless body.
"My God!"

She looked at me, shock mingling with an unspoken reproach.

I told you to take care of her, didn't I?

Aunt Mimi gestured for me to step away from Lucy. I obeyed, reluctantly, my body trembling with panic.

Holding my breath, I watched as Aunt Mimi leaned down, placing her cheek gently above Lucy's mouth.
What is she doing? What the hell is she doing?
In normal circumstances, I would have known the answer. But nothing felt normal anymore.
My world had gone black the moment I witnessed Lucy collapse onto the bathroom floor, the instant I held her in my arms.

Her lifeless body... She might be gone, John... You know that, don't you?

I remembered running to her, screaming her name as I realized she was about to fall. She had given me a faint smile before she collapsed...

What had that smile meant? Was it a goodbye?

No... Lucy wasn't the type to say that. No... No!

A scream rose in my throat, but before it could escape...

"She's breathing, John!" Mimi turned to face me. "Call an ambulance!"

Her voice cut through my fog, sending a jolt through my body.

"Wh... What?" I stammered, struggling to pull myself out of the daze.

Mimi grabbed my shoulders, shaking me with urgency.

"She's alive, John! Call the Royal Hospital! Quick!"

Life surged back through my veins.

I nodded frantically, quickly wiping away the tears streaming down my cheeks. I stood up from the floor, jolting toward the living room where the telephone was.
I wouldn't give up on Lucy. Not yet. Not until she came back to us.

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"They'll be here in a—"

I froze at the bathroom doorway. The words died in my throat.

Mimi cradled Lucy's body in her arms, gently pushing a stray hair from her face. She was lost in contemplation, absorbed by Lucy's features.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard her voice tremble: