Chapter 630 Just Take It as Pitying Him
After Aurora wrapped up her call with Tristram, she hopped into the car he sent for her. They were meeting up at a café.
"I've already heard the details from Eva. I'm really sorry to put you in this spot," Tristram sighed, looking pretty stressed. "My brother's always been into chemistry experiments. A few days before the accident, he locked himself in his lab, and we have no clue what he was working on. Then the accident happened."
"He messed up, and that's what caused the experiment to fail and led to the tragedy. But he keeps saying someone was out to get him and that the explosion was intentional. We've shown him all the investigation results, but he just won't buy it."
"Since then, he's been paranoid and manic. I've found tons of doctors for him, but he always thinks they're trying to hurt him instead of helping."
"I thought if I found a young college student who hasn't been exposed to much, he might trust them. I didn't expect things to turn out like this. I'm really sorry."
Tristram looked really upset, and Aurora quickly tried to comfort him. "Mr. Rivers, you've done everything you could. You don't need to beat yourself up."
"Thanks for saying that," Tristram replied, looking at Aurora. "So, Ms. Ryan, what do you think? Will you keep treating my brother, or... He isn't a bad person. Before the accident, he was very well-behaved. The incident just messed him up badly."
"I understand. I'll find a way to keep treating him."
She had already given the money to Cormac and didn't have $200,000 to return to Tristram. What other choice did she have but to keep treating Ryder?
"Thank you so much, Ms. Ryan. If you can heal my brother's leg, I'll pay you ten times the agreed amount."
"That's way too much, and I'm not sure I can heal him," Aurora said, knowing Ryder wasn't cooperative. "I'll do my best, but if I can't help him, I'll return the $200,000."
"No need. Once I've paid, I won't ask for it back. Just focus on treating my brother."
"Can I get all his medical records and previous test results?"
"Of course. I'll have my assistant bring them to you right away."
Tristram called his assistant, who quickly delivered the documents. Tristram handed them to Aurora, who briefly looked through them.
"These are from right after the accident, right? They're too old to be of much use. I need his current records."
"These are all we have," Tristram explained. "As I mentioned, he doesn't trust anyone after the accident. He refuses to see doctors, so..."
Seeing Aurora's difficulty, Tristram added, "If you need his latest test results, you'll have to convince him to get checked. I know it's a lot to ask, but I've tried everything over the past two years, and he just won't cooperate."
It was definitely a tough situation. Given Ryder's condition, it wouldn't be easy, but she had no choice but to try.
"I'll think of something."
"Thank you, Ms. Ryan," Tristram said. "Considering you're still a student and have classes, we'll only need you on weekends. We won't bother you during the week.""Thanks."
"And with summer break coming up, will you..."
She had planned to head back to Arizona City for the summer to see her aunt, uncle, and Ethan. But after finding out about her dad's situation, she didn't dare face Cormac.
Even without Ryder's treatment, she planned to work over the summer to save money and pay back her uncle, as a way to make up for her dad's actions and ease her guilt.
"I won't be going home for the summer. I'll stay here to treat your brother."
"That's great," Tristram said, looking relieved. "Thank you so much. If you need anything or if my brother gives you any trouble, just let me know."
"Okay." Aurora glanced at Ryder's old test results. "I'll take these with me."
Even though they weren't recent, they could help her understand the extent of his injuries back then.
"Of course."
Aurora took Ryder's medical records back to her basement and carefully went through the initial reports. The photos of his injuries were pretty shocking.
Thinking about a privileged young guy suddenly disfigured and stuck in a wheelchair, anyone would be traumatized. She decided to be compassionate, as a doctor should.
Aurora studied the records until she fell asleep at her desk. The next morning, her alarm woke her, and she realized she was running late.
Her old apartment was just a few minutes' walk from school, but now she lived farther away. She rushed to school on a shared bike, but still arrived late. The teacher had already taken attendance, and she lost some credits for being late, much to Kelly and her friends' delight.
The following days at school were the same. Everyone continued to ostracize her, and she spent her time alone, diving into her studies.
On Friday, they had an anatomy class. The students gathered in the lab, where four donated bodies lay on tables. Each student held a scalpel, watching the teacher's demonstration before practicing themselves.
Kelly and Jade deliberately moved closer to Aurora. She tried to avoid them, but Kelly persisted.
"Aurora, still holding a grudge? We're classmates, just messing around. Don't take it to heart," Kelly said in a sickly sweet voice.
"We're just classmates, not friends. You can say whatever you want, but whether I take it to heart is my business. Since we have no other relationship, let's not talk too much. Focus on the class," Aurora replied.
Kelly, clearly annoyed, shot her a cold look.
As the anatomy class began, the teacher demonstrated the procedure, and the students started their dissections.
"Sorry, sorry!"
Just as they began, Kelly's scalpel slipped and cut Aurora's hand, causing blood to flow instantly.
"I'm so sorry, Aurora. My hand slipped," Kelly apologized repeatedly.
"How can you be so careless? If this happened in surgery, the patient could die!" the teacher scolded Kelly harshly.
"I'm sorry," Kelly apologized again. "I'll be more careful next time."
Seeing Aurora's bleeding hand, the teacher quickly said, "What are you waiting for? Take her to the infirmary to get bandaged!"
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