The Unlucky Turn by Mark Twain 287

The young girl lay quietly on the hospital bed. A small spot of blood had seeped through the gauze on her forehead. Her face was pale, but her breathing was steady.

Leilani sighed softly and reached out to tuck the blanket around her. At least it wasn’t life-threatening.

Just then, the door to the ward was shoved open.

“Yvonne!” Gloria rushed in, heels clicking sharply on the floor. The moment she saw her unconscious daughter, the color drained from her face.

She threw herself at the bedside, trembling as she grabbed Yvonne’s hand. “Yvonne! What happened? Mom is here. Wake up!”

Yvonne didn’t respond.

Gloria whipped her head around, her gaze cutting into Leilani like a knife. “You again?”

Leilani pressed her lips together. She was about to explain, but Gloria snapped at her. “Last time your caused her to break her legs! This time you got her head bashed in! Leilani, what exactly are you trying to do?”

Her voice was shrill and piercing, causing nurses and patients in the hallway to look over.

Leilani took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation rising in her chest, and tried to keep her voice calm. “Mrs. Sherwood, someone deliberately pushed us. Both Yvonne and I were almost hit by a

truck.”

“Deliberately?” Gloria scoffed. “Who would want to hurt you? You clearly messed with the wrong people and dragged my daughter into it!”

She grew more agitated as she spoke, pointing a finger right in Leilani’s face. “I warned you to stay away from Yvonne! Why does an ex-con like you insist on clinging to her? You’re a curse! Haven’t you hurt her enough?”

Leilani’s fingers tightened slightly. Her chest felt heavy, as if a stone were crushing it. Gloria was too emotional to listen to reason, but she couldn’t argue back.

The truth was, she couldn’t be sure if the attacker had targeted her or Yvonne. If the target had been her, then Yvonne really had been collateral damage today.

Leilani apologized in a low voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t protect her well enough.”

Gloria sneered. “Is an apology going to fix anything? If anything happens to Yvonne, I swear I won’t let you get away with it!”

Leilani closed her eyes for a moment, said nothing more, and turned to walk out the door.

Just as she reached the threshold, she nearly collided with Milford, who had arrived in a hurry. He had obviously received the news as well, and his expression was grim. “Leilani, is Yvonne…”

Leilani gave him a flat look, said nothing, and walked past him.

Inside the room, Milford stood by Yvonne’s bed, his brow furrowed. He noticed the way the other

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patients were looking at Gloria and himself. It was obvious his mother had just had a massive fight with Leilani.

He looked at Gloria and asked quietly. “Mom, what actually happened? We don’t even have the facts yet. Did you say something terrible to Leilani just now?”

Gloria, who was fussing over Yvonne’s blanket, jerked her head up, her eyes fierce. “Are you blaming

me?”

Milford pressed his lips into a thin line. “That’s not what I mean. But without knowing the whole story, you pushed all the responsibility onto Leilani…”

“Pushed it on her?” Gloria let out a cold laugh, her voice rising in pitch. “Milford, what kind of spell has that woman put on you? Your sister has been hurt twice now, and which time wasn’t because of

her?”

She pointed a trembling finger at the unconscious Yvonne. “Last time the broken legs, this time almost hit by a car! Since when has your sister ever suffered like this growing up?”

Milford was silent for a moment before trying to defend Leilani. “Didn’t Leilani say someone pushed them on purpose? She is a victim too…”

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