All Burn With Me
The words late-stage stomach cancer felt as if frozen in ice, stabbing painfully at my eyes.
The doctor said I have at most three months left.
I sat on a bench in the hospital corridor, cold wind sneaking through the window cracks, wrapped in the chill of late autumn.
My first thought was to tell Howard Sheen and Draco Kimwe grew up together, and they are the dearest people to me.
I called Howard, my voice trembling uncontrollably.
"Howard, I'm in the hospital. The doctor said I..."
Before I could finish, he interrupted me impatiently.
"Sicily, what tricks are you trying now? Are you jealous because we've been spending more time with Ella lately, and you're just making excuses to gain sympathy?"
Draco's mocking laughter came through the phone.
"What? Late-stage stomach cancer? You're fit enough to run five kilometersstop pretending."
My heart sank bit by bit, like a heavy stone dropping.
After hanging up, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed in my mind.
"Sicily Jordan, if you die in this world, you may return to the original world and receive a reward of one hundred million dollars."
"At the same time, everything Howard Sheen and Draco Kim possess in this world will be wiped clean."
I was momentarily stunnedso this isn't my original world?
At dusk, the door was abruptly flung open.
Howard and Draco walked ahead, while Ella Charles linked her arms with theirs, smiling playfully.
"Sicily, Ella has made a bet with usif you drink this cup of honey water, we get to kiss her." Draco shook the glass in his hand.
I saw a layer of dark brown vinegar settled at the bottom, and a dull ache began in my stomach.
"I can't drink it; my stomach isn't well." I took a step back.
Howard stepped forward and grabbed my wrist, squeezing so hard it hurt.
"Drink up! Don't be so pretentiousElla wants to see you drink."
The glass was shoved to my lips, and the sharp, sour liquid burned down my throat.
A sudden, searing pain shot through my stomach, as if countless needles were piercing it.
I bent over, cold sweat instantly soaking through my clothes.
They ignored my suffering, gathered around Ella, laughing and celebrating their bet win.
After a moment, Ella's gaze settled on a pottery vase displayed on the living room shelf.
At that time, she hadn't moved into our neighborhood yet, so she hadn't seen the three of us covered in clay, squatting in the pottery studio.
That was when we were ten years old, making pottery together at the pottery studio.
Howard ruined it three times, and on the third, he threw a tantrum, saying he would never touch clay again. In the end, Draco coaxed him into fixing it together.
Draco secretly carved the initials of the three of us on the bottom of the bottle and told us afterward that it was our "friendship code."
Ella walked over and dragged her fingertips across the bottle's surface, leaving a faint scratch.
She lightly touched the vase, her eyes showing no trace of curiosity, only a cold indifference, as if inspecting garbage.
"This vase is so ugly; it just wastes space here."
She curled her lips, her voice dripping with disdain, as if she had spotted something filthy.
The moment she spoke, I didn't even see clearly whether she truly slipped or let go on purposethe vase fell.
With a loud crash, it shattered on the floor, shards scattering onto my pants.
I suddenly stood up, my hand instinctively clenching into a fist, my nails digging into my palm, my heart twisted in pain.
"What are you doing!" My voice tremblednot from fear, but from being too angry to have any strength.
Howard pushed Ella behind him, his arm shielding her as if I were a wild beast.
"It's just a worthless vase, isn't it? Ella didn't do it on purpose, so why are you shouting?"
He frowned, his tone full of impatience, as if I were making a mountain out of a molehill.
Ella peeked out from behind Howard, whispering, "Sorry, Sicily, I didn't mean to..."
But there was no hint of remorse in her eyes; a smile lingered at the corner of her lips.
Draco crouched down, picked up the largest shard, and without even looking, threw it toward the trash can. It missed, and the ceramic piece bounced several times on the floor.
"Since it's broken, let's thoroughly clean up these old things, so you won't be reminded of those miserable past events whenever you see them."
He looked up at me, but the gentle expression he once had was gone, replaced entirely by coldness, as if silently blaming me for clinging to the past.
He reached out to grab the photo frame on the shelf. That frame was one I had specifically replaced last year with new glass, fearing the old glass might scratch the photo.
That was a photo when we graduated from the elementary school. Howard insisted on standing in the middle, claiming he wanted to be our "boss."
In the photo, we were all smiling radiantly. Howard even secretly flashed the Scissor-hands gesture and showed no remorse even after the teacher scolded him.
"No!" I stepped forward, my throat feeling blocked, and my voice cracked as I shouted.
I tried to rush forward to stop him, but Howard grabbed my wrist. His grip was so strong it made me wince in pain, almost forcing a cry out of me.
Draco raised his hand, slamming the photo frame onto the ground with a sharp "crack." The sound of the glass shattering was more piercing than a vase breakingas if it were slicing through my ears.
The glass shattered into shards, and the photo was scratched beyond recognition. Howard's Scissor-hands broke into several pieces, and our smiling faces were shattered too.
Then, he picked up the fairy tale book from the bookshelfthe cover was softened from my constant flipping. When Howard gave it to me, he said, "From now on, you are my little rose."
He casually tore out several pages from the book and then threw it onto the floor. The scattered pages and the book he trampled on lay there so pitifully.
And the thousand origami cranes Draco and I folded, kept in a glass jarwe folded a hundred together. He said each represented a blessing and told me to unfold one every day.
Draco grabbed the glass jar and smashed it on the ground; the paper cranes scattered everywhere, some drifting near Ella's feet. She smiled slyly and stepped on them, breaking the cranes' delicate wings.
One after another, they smashed everything on the floorthose treasures I had cherished for so many years, which to them were nothing but trash.
I stood there, watching the things that held our childhood memories shatter into pieces. Tears brimmed in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall, unwilling to give them the satisfaction of seeing me break.
The last trace of my thoughts about "friendship" shattered, breaking more utterly than the porcelain shards on the floor.
I no longer cried or tried to stop them; I just looked at them coldly, realizing how foolish I had beenfoolish enough to treasure a false friendship.
Ella leaned against Howard's chest, glanced up at me, and a smug smile curved her lips, like a victorious general flaunting her spoils.
I touched the pearl necklace around my neck; the cool beads pressed against my skin.
Last summer, Howard and Draco dove into the river to retrieve freshwater mussels, pried open the pearls themselves, and had someone craft a necklace for me.
Back then, they said it was one of a kind, meant only for me.
Looking back now, it's truly laughable.
I unclasped the necklace and walked over to Ella.
"You've always wanted to give her this necklace, haven't you? Now it's hers."
I handed over the necklace, wanting to sever the last thread that bound me to them.
But suddenly, Howard rushed forward and snatched the necklace from my hand.
"Who told you to give it to Ella?" His eyes darkened with anger. "This cheap necklace only suits you; Ella deserves a better gift!"
He pulled hard, and the necklace chain snapped. Pearls spilled onto the ground, rolling everywhere.
"Sicily, don't shamelessly disregard decency!" Draco also shouted, "Haven't we been good to you? Why must you cause trouble?"
"Good to me?" I laughed, tears nearly spilling, "You were good to me by letting Ella destroy our memories, by forcing me to drink bitterness, by calling me a faker seeking sympathy with a fake illness?"
Ella tugged on Howard's sleeve and coquettishly said, "Howard, Draco, stop arguing with her. Maybe she's just in a bad mood."
Seeing her play innocent, I could no longer hold back.
"Bad mood? I can't stand you clinging to Howard while sleeping with Draco behind his back!"
That sentence hit like a bomb, and the living room immediately fell silent.
Howard and Draco's faces both changed, and they turned to look at Ella at the same time.
Ella's face went instantly pale, and her eyes filled with panic.
"You... what nonsense are you talking about! Sicily, don't slander me with baseless accusations!"
"Nonsense?" I stared at her. "Last Wednesday night, you stayed the whole night at Draco's apartment; last Friday, you went to the hotel with Howard. Should I send you the surveillance screenshots so you can see for yourself?"
I had known for a long time, but I was unwilling to believe it, unwilling to tear apart this fragile veil of hypocrisy.
Now, I no longer want to endure it.
Howard froze for two seconds, then his eyes snapped wide open, like a wolf whose tail had been stepped on.
He grabbed my collar with one hand, his fingers tightening around my neck, while his other hand rose and slapped me.
"Bi*ch! How dare you slander Ella!"
The slap echoed harshly in the room; I was struck, my head turned to one side, my ears ringing loudly.
My cheek burned instantly, as if pressed against a scalding iron plate, and salty blood soon trickled from the corner of my mouth.
Ella immediately hid behind Howard, clutching his arm with trembling hands, her voice trembling: "Howard, stop hitting her, maybe Sicily just made a mistake..."
But there was not a trace of worry in her eyes; instead, they held a hint of excitement.
Draco also rushed forward, clenching his fist and striking my back.
"Sicily, have you lost your mind? How could you invent such lies!"
His fists were heavy and merciless; with every strike, I felt the air being forced from my lungs, my body involuntarily leaning forward.
I staggered backward, beaten by them, my back thudding coldly against the corner of the wall, pain making me gasp sharply.
It suddenly felt as if a dull knife was twisting in my stomach, and the sour water I had been forced to drink still seemed to burn my stomach lining, sweat breaking out cold on my forehead from the pain.
"I'm telling the truth..." I gasped, my voice barely more than a mosquito's buzz, "I have photos... in my pocket..."
I tried to lift my hand to reach the photos in my pocketimages I had accidentally taken last week of Ella and Draco entering the hotelbut before I could, Howard kicked me hard in the stomach.
Howard's eyes were bloodshot as he raised his foot and delivered a brutal blow to my abdomen.
"Ah!" I screamed, my body collapsing forward like a kite with a snapped string, crashing heavily to the ground.
A mouthful of fresh blood gushed from my throat, splattering on the pearls lying on the floor. The white pearls instantly stained dark red, resembling a collection of shattered hearts.
Ella walked over and tugged at Howard's arm, her voice filled with concern: "Howard, stop it. If you keep this up, someone's going to die."
But she barely tried to pull me, her eyes darting toward me as if to check whether I was already dead.
Howard yanked his hand away sharply, glaring at me with venomous hatred, and shifted his foot closer.
"Better if she's dead! Then she won't be an eyesore here, constantly stirring up trouble between us!"
Draco crouched down, looked at the blood on the ground, frowned, and absentmindedly picked at the seam of his pants.
He seemed a little afraid that I was really dead and hesitated about whether to take me to the hospital.
But Ella immediately came over, tugged on his sleeve, and said, "Draco, don't waste time here. We still have plans to meet friends at a party; we'll be late if we don't leave now."
Draco hesitated for two seconds but eventually stood up and brushed the dust off his pants.
"Let's go; don't waste time here with her."
The three of them turned and headed toward the door. Ella deliberately paused as she passed by me.
She lifted her foot, and the thin heel of her high heel pressed harshly down onto the back of my hand.
"Sicily, in your next life, don't meddle in so many things, and above all, don't stand in others' way."
Her heel pressed down again, and my fingers curled in pain, but I didn't even have the strength to cry out.
The door slammed shut with a bang, and the room instantly fell silent, leaving me completely alone.
Pain surged through my limbs like a tide, my head growing dizzy, and my consciousness gradually fading.
I lay on the cold floor, staring at the chandelier above, and suddenly felt a strange sense of release.
Perhaps this is for the best; after death, I can return to the original world and see Chris.
The lights before my eyes gradually dimmed, finally fading into complete darkness, and the last bit of strength in my body disappeared.
I felt my soul gently float up, and when I looked down, I saw my body lying on the groundso pale, so fragile, with the imprint of high heels still on the back of my hand.
There was no pain, only a sense of relief, as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted.
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