The Day I Kissed An Older Man
Chapter 2370

"Lucas, are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?" Claudia had silently resolved in her heart that once they were both safely out of this ordeal, she would be with the boy who had protected her, no matter what. She was determined to stand by him, whatever happened.

"Cough, cough." Lucas spat out a mouthful of blood, still lying face down on the ground. He felt unable to move, with a dull ache in his chest, likely from a broken rib.

"How are you feeling now? Can you move? Do you need any help?" Claudia, seeing Lucas in such a weakened state, felt she had to take charge.

With a pale smile, Lucas replied, "Your hands and feet are tied too. What can you do to help me? Just let me rest quietly for a while."

Even though he did not say it, Claudia could feel that Lucas was not doing well. His complexion grew paler by the minute, his lips devoid of any color. The beating he had received had been brutal.

"I told you we should just wait here for our family to come and rescue us, but you insisted on trying to escape! Now look at what's happened. If we hadn't tried to run, maybe that man wouldn't have gotten so angry..."

Claudia felt a mixture of heartache and regret. She knew Lucas had a strong sense of pride; he did not like being threatened.

'If it weren't for me, perhaps he'd still have a fighting chance. I'm nothing but a burden to him with my hands and feet being tied up...' thought Claudia.

"Just you wait," Lucas said weakly before closing his eyes. His breathing was labored, a sound that filled Claudia with even more fear.

"Lucas? Lucas?!"

Claudia occasionally called out to him, afraid that if Lucas fell asleep, he might not wake up again.

Lucas could not quite recall what happened afterward; he only remembered waking up in the hospital. Beside him lay Claudia, and he did not know how they had been rescued.

Lucas approached Claudia's bed. Her breathing seemed so weak, as if she were on the verge of taking her last at any moment.

Suddenly, the memories of that day overlapped with the image of Thalia collapsing on the ground. Thalia and Claudia were sisters, and they looked so much alike.

Lucas squatted down, his mind blank as he tried to figure out how to help Thalia up. Melody, leaning on her crutches, found it difficult to bend down.

"She just fell down accidentally..." Melody said, feeling guilty inside.

In truth, she was not sure why Thalia, who had been standing behind her just moments before, suddenly collapsed like that. She did try to push Thalia away, but it was not like she used any strength.

Melody was taken aback by the icy glare from Lucas as if she had committed some unforgivable sin. She instinctively took a few steps back, even avoiding eye contact with him. She could not bear to meet his gaze.

"Thalia came to the restroom with you, so how can you not know how she fell? How could she have fallen like that if not for someone pushing her?" asked Lucas.

Melody frowned, trying hard to suppress the sudden urge to cry and the overwhelming sense of injustice.