Mom and Dad screamed in terror when they saw my bloody hand.
Jeff stared at the piece of flesh he had torn off, utterly shocked, "What's going on? How could this happen?"
Only I remained calm, placing my hand in front of the white mice to let them bathe in my blood. The white mice squeaked excitedly, I laughed with joy.
Actually, the drug testing had never stopped. Oral, topical, injectable, they used them all.
My whole body was covered in needle marks, my skin constantly ulcerated and my immune system was always on the verge of collapse.
Just before coming to the restaurant … They had dressed me up beautifully, even hired a mortuary makeup artist to cover up my true condition.
"What are you all standing around for? Hurry and get Audrey to the hospital!" Dad shouted.
Only then did Jeff snap back to reality and quickly picked me up. The warmth of his arms … felt familiar. For some reason, tears welled up in my eyes.
At the hospital, after the examination, Eve rushed into the ward, flustered and anxious, "How could Audrey lose a whole piece of skin for no reason? What did the doctor say?"
Compared to before … She now wore gold-rimmed glasses and a floral dress, pretending to be a sweet, well-behaved girl.
"Squeak!" I shielded the white mice and stared at her intensely, letting out a warning sound.
Eve quickly backed away two steps, hiding behind Jeff, but the corner of her mouth lifted in a mocking smirk. She was clearly very pleased with my current state.
But Jeff thought Eve was scared, so he scolded me, "Your injury has nothing to do with Eve! Why are you glaring at her? Are you still holding a grudge?"
"Even though you tried to hurt Eve back then, she always tells us she misses you. And you're the older sister, why are you still targeting your little sister? It's been a year, haven't you figured it out yet?" Mom shook her head in disappointment. She continued, "Even if you're sick, you can't look at Eve with those eyes! Turn your head!"
Dad put on a stern face and barked harshly, then added, "I'm starting to think you've been mixing with shady people for too long. That's why your skin's falling off."
"I remember now!" Eve slapped her forehead, chiming in, "When I went to the library this morning, I heard people talking nearby. There's a sexually transmitted disease going around lately, it sounds a lot like Audrey's condition …"
What? Mom and Dad were stunned.
Jeff frowned and muttered to himself, "That can't be. Audrey was always very self-disciplined. Her WhatsApp used to only have me and Uncle as male contacts."
"The test results are in!" At that moment, the doctor walked in. When I saw his face, I immediately dove under the blanket, so scared I peed myself.
"What exactly is wrong with Audrey?" Jeff asked anxiously.
"It's a contagious STD. Her private life seems quite chaotic. And she's had seven abortions!" The doctor adjusted his glasses and sighed.
Mom, Dad and Jeff were struck like by thunder, completely stunned.
Then Jeff suddenly yanked my blanket off, grabbed my right hand tightly and roared in rage, "Audrey! So all that pure, untouchable act was fake! You're just a filthy whore!"
He shouted, "How could you cheat on me behind my back? Were you that lonely? Do you think you're worthy of being my fiancée? Speak! Say something!"
I couldn't respond, because after so many experiments, I had already lost my ability to speak. My behavior had become almost like a mouse's. I could only let out trembling squeaks.
"You …" Jeff clenched his teeth with a grinding sound, tore off another piece of skin, then turned and took out his phone.
