My Romance Life System
Chapter 86: Nightmare

Chapter 86: Nightmare

"Kofi," his dad’s voice finally came on the line, low and serious. "I need you to repeat that last part for me. The doctor wants to do what?"

He did. He explained the temporary guardianship, the paperwork, the stipend from the hospital. He explained that it was a choice, that Thea had to agree, and that he hadn’t said yes yet.

He heard his parents talking to each other in the background, their voices muffled and urgent. It went on for a minute, which felt like an hour. He just sat on the bench, staring at the sky, his heart pounding.

Finally, his mom came back on the line. Her voice was different, softer.

"Kofi," she said. "This girl, Thea. She’s all alone?"

"Yeah. Completely."

Another pause. He could picture them, sitting in some lounge on the other side of the world, trying to process the fact that their quiet, solitary son had just stumbled into the middle of a five-alarm tragedy.

"What do you want to do?" his dad asked. It wasn’t an accusation. It was a real question.

"I..." He didn’t have an answer ready. "I don’t know. I just know that leaving her to go back to that house feels... wrong. I can’t do it."

"Okay," his dad said, and there was a finality in his voice. "Okay, son."

His mom spoke again. "Your father and I, we’ve always trusted you to be a good person. We’ve never had to worry about that. If you think this is the right thing to do, if you really believe you can help this girl..."

She took a breath. "Then we’ll support you. We will figure out the money. We will talk to the lawyers, to the school, whatever we need to do. But Kofi... you have to be sure. This is a big thing. This will change everything."

He looked up from the sky, to the ground, at the people walking by. His life had already changed.

"I’m sure," he said.

"Alright then," his dad said. "Let us know what she decides. And Kofi?"

"Yeah?"

"We’re proud of you, son. Really proud."

He hung up the phone. He just sat there on the bench, the sounds of the city swirling around him.

The words were a comfort. They were also a terrifying amount of pressure. He was sixteen years old, and he had just been given permission to unofficially adopt a traumatized girl he barely knew.

(Honestly, you’d think his life was a light novel plot written by a committee of caffeine-addicted teenagers. It was just one ridiculous, life-altering event after another.)

His phone buzzed again, the screen lighting up with a picture of Nina making a stupid face. He couldn’t help but let out a small, tired laugh. He answered, the sound of her voice an anchor in the middle of his personal hurricane.

"Hello?"

"Took you long enough," she said, her voice bright and teasing. "I was starting to think you got lost. Or maybe you finally ascended to a higher plane of existence made entirely of swords and brooding."

He leaned back against the bench, the sound of her normal, everyday nonsense a welcome relief. "Not yet. Still stuck in this mortal realm, unfortunately."

"You sound weird," she said, her tone shifting instantly from teasing to concerned. "Like, really tired. Are you okay? Did something happen?"

’She can tell. Of course, she can tell.’

"Just a long day," he said, the lie feeling thin and flimsy even to his own ears. "I’m just... wiped."

"Liar," she shot back immediately. "You have your ’I’m trying to solve the universe’s problems by myself’ voice on. I can hear it. What’s going on, Kofi?"

He looked across the street at the hospital’s main entrance, the automatic doors sliding open and shut, swallowing people into its sterile white belly. He couldn’t tell her. Not like this. Not over the phone.

"It’s nothing, really. I’m just out for a walk."

"A walk? Where?"

"Just... around."

’Great answer. Very specific. You’re a master of deception.’

"Uh-huh," she said, and he could practically hear her narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "So what are you gonna have for dinner tonight? Let me guess, a bowl of sad cereal?"

The whiplash of the conversation, from his secret life-altering decision to the nutritional content of his dinner, was almost dizzying. It was also exactly what he needed.

"Maybe," he admitted. "Cereal is a perfectly balanced meal. It has grains and... milk."

She let out a long, dramatic sigh. "You’re hopeless. I’m over here trying to decide between pizza and tacos, and you’re treating cereal like a food group. You know, for a guy who’s suddenly a delinquent hero who gets detention, your diet is still super boring."

He just smiled, listening to her talk. Her voice was just... easy. It was the only part of his life right now that didn’t feel like a problem he had to solve.

"Hey, Kofi?" she asked, her voice dropping a little. "For real, are you sure you’re okay?"

He opened his mouth to lie again, to say he was fine, but the words wouldn’t come. He was so tired of pretending.

"No," he said finally, the single word feeling like a huge weight lifted off his chest. "Not really."

The line went quiet for a second.

"Where are you?" she asked, and all the teasing was gone now. Her voice was just soft and serious.

"I’m outside the hospital."

He didn’t have to explain why. It didn’t matter.

"Don’t move," she said, her voice firm. "I’m on my way."

"Nina, you don’t have to—"

"Shut up. Pillar contract, section A," He could hear the sound of her grabbing her keys in the background. "Pillar provides emotional support in the event of a catastrophic emotional disaster. I’ll be there in twenty minutes."

She hung up before he could argue.

He put his phone down on the bench next to him and just stared at the hospital. He didn’t know what he was going to tell her. He didn’t know how to explain the impossible choice he was facing.

And just to make things extra fun, a dull throb started up behind his eyes. It wasn’t a normal headache. It was the kind of headache you get when your brain has had enough of your life choices and is actively trying to shut down in protest.

’Great.’ He rubbed his temples. ’Now my head hurts.’

He closed his eyes, leaning back against the bench. He just wanted five minutes. Five minutes where no one needed him, where no one was yelling at him, and where no one was offering him the life of another human being like it was a party favor.

A flash of blue scrubs in his vision made his eyes snap open.

It was the good nurse, the one with the kind eyes. Except right now, her eyes weren’t kind. They were wide and scared. She was practically running out of the hospital’s main entrance, her head whipping back and forth as she scanned the area.

Her gaze landed on him, and she looked so relieved it was actually a little terrifying.

"Kofi! Thank god, I was hoping you were still here."

She hurried over to him, her hands twisting the fabric of her scrubs. She was out of breath.

He was already on his feet. "What’s wrong?"

"It’s Thea." Her voice was tight. "Her body... it’s rejecting the IV. Her blood pressure is dropping. Fast."

She took a shaky breath, her professional calm completely gone.

"She’s going into shock."

And just like that, Kofi’s brain, already running on fumes after the day from hell, just blue-screened.

Shock. The word didn’t even register. It was just a sound, a collection of letters that meant nothing because his brain had officially logged off for a vacation. He just stood there, staring at the nurse, his face completely blank.

She didn’t wait for an answer. She didn’t have time. Her hand clamped onto his arm, her grip surprisingly strong, and yanked him toward the hospital doors.

"We need you. Now."

The world turned into a blurry, hallway-themed racing game, and Kofi was just along for the ride.

"Wait, what? Why me?" His legs were struggling to keep up. "I’m not a doctor! I don’t know what to do!"

"Her body is shutting down." She pulled him around a corner, her voice strained. "It’s not just physical anymore. It’s in her head. She’s given up. She doesn’t want to be here."

They were at her room now. The door was wide open, and the scene inside was chaos. The doctor was there, barking orders at another nurse. The steady, rhythmic beeping from Thea’s monitor was gone, replaced by a frantic, high-pitched alarm that was screaming ’failure’.

The doctor grabbed his arm, his professional calm completely shattered. "The drugs aren’t working," he said, his voice tight with a desperation that was terrifying to hear. "Her body is fighting them. We need her to calm down. We need you."

’Me? You want me? The guy who was just having a full-blown panic attack? What am I supposed to do, challenge her kidneys to a duel?’

His brain was an empty, echoing cave. He was a kid who thought ’complex problem-solving’ was figuring out the right dialogue choices in a video game. He wasn’t a doctor. He wasn’t a therapist. He was just a guy who was in way, way over his head.

"I... I don’t know how to do that," he stammered, his feet stumbling as the nurse and doctor practically dragged him into the room.

The room was a nightmare.