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• • • •
Soft evening light fills the quiet living room.
Brooke sits curled on the couch, eyes fixed on her phone.
Larry moves around the room, putting a few items away.
Bethany rests in the armchair, still and silent.
For a moment everything feels ordinary.
Then Bethany lifts a hand to her forehead.
Her eyes close.
Her breathing grows shallow and slow.
Bethany opens her eyes. Her face has gone pale.
Larry crosses the room at once.
Bethany tries to rise, but her legs give out. Larry catches her before she can fall.
He guides her carefully back into the chair.
Brooke looks up from her phone and freezes at the worry on Larry’s face.
She draws a shaky breath. Her eyelids grow heavy.
Bethany forces her eyes open.
She doesn’t answer. Her head tips suddenly to the side.
He steadies her by the shoulders.
Brooke leaps from the couch and rushes to them.
Larry eases Bethany back against the chair. She is completely unconscious.
Larry looks terrified.
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• • • •
Larry lightly taps Bethany’s cheek.
Nothing. Bethany stays still.
He checks her again. Still no response.
Silence.
Brooke races toward the kitchen.
Larry stays at Bethany’s side, gripping her hand.
Brooke returns with a glass of water.
Larry holds the glass near Bethany, but she does not stir.
He reaches for his phone.
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• • • •
Larry unlocks his phone with trembling hands.
Brooke watches him, eyes wide with fear.
He glances down at Bethany.
Larry listens carefully and gives the address.
Brooke sits beside her mother and gently takes her hand.
Larry kneels beside Bethany once more.
A distant siren rises outside.
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• • • •
An ambulance stops in front of the house.
The doors swing open.
Two paramedics climb out with medical gear.
The paramedics follow him through the door.
Brooke stands back, frightened and still.
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
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• • • •
The paramedics kneel beside Bethany.
Bethany does not respond.
They position the stretcher next to the chair.
The paramedics carefully lift Bethany onto the stretcher.
Larry rests a hand on Brooke’s shoulder.
The paramedics secure Bethany and wheel her toward the front door.
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
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• • • •
The paramedics carry Bethany out into the evening air.
Larry follows close behind. Brooke walks at his side.
Flashing ambulance lights sweep across the neighborhood.
The paramedics load Bethany into the ambulance.
The ambulance doors shut. The siren starts again.
Larry stands frozen for a second, staring at the vehicle.
The ambulance vanishes down the road.
Larry and Brooke hurry toward their car.
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
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• • • •
The ambulance reaches the hospital.
Staff rush Bethany inside.
Larry and Brooke arrive only moments later.
A nurse points toward the emergency department.
Larry and Brooke hurry through the doors.
The emergency room doors close behind Bethany.
Larry stops in the hallway and stares at the closed doors.
Larry pulls Brooke into a tight hug.
They stand together in the quiet hospital hallway.
Behind the closed doors, doctors and nurses work to help Bethany.
Larry looks toward the emergency room one last time.
The scene fades out.
CONTINUED…