Roommate Framed My Brother; I Called School Doctor Early, She Regretted

My brother is in medical school. When my roommate collapsed during freshman orientation, he gave her first aid.

I never imagined that the moment she came to, she'd accuse him of molesting her.

She wept and cried, I don't want to live anymore. My honor is gone.

Then she lunged at a tree like she meant to kill herself, and a girl scrambled to stop her.

My brother rushed to explain. "I was saving your life!"

But she said, "You undid my bra clasp and you still say you didn't grope me!"

The girl holding her back reached into her clothes, and her face changed.

After that, the way everyone looked at my brother turned to something else entirely.

In the end, my brother had no way to clear his name. Crushed and hopeless, he jumped from a high building to prove his innocence.

And my roommate, praised for bravely fighting off harassment, became the school's celebrated feminist heroine and even won a guaranteed spot in grad school.

After my brother died, drowning in regret, I dragged myself to her door to demand the truth.

She only smirked at me and said,

"So what if I faked passing out and framed your brother? Your family's rich. I was going to make him marry me."

"I just didn't think he'd be dense enough to go and kill himself."

"But I got my grad school spot, so I didn't come out of it empty-handed."

Rage blacked out my vision. When I opened my eyes again,

I was back at the moment before my roommate ever fainted during boot camp, the day my brother came to visit me.

This time, I made a call first.

"Hi, is this the campus doctor?"

...

The second I hung up with the campus doctor, I dialed my brother, John Mason.

"John, don't come over. Wait for me at the gazebo by the front gate. I'll come to you right now."

"Flora? What's wrong? I'm almost at the training field."

"Don't ask. Just do what I say."

I didn't give him the chance to press me. I hung up.

Almost the same instant, a wave of shouts went up from the crowd behind me.

"Gail Butler fainted!"

Here it was.

The exact same moment, the exact same scene as my last life.

I stood there coldly, watching a knot of people flail around the fallen Gail Butler,

not a ripple in my chest.

"Flora, come quick and look. Gail's gone completely pale!"

My other roommate, May Cannon, shouted at me, panicked. When I didn't move,

she ran over, grabbed me hard, and stamped her foot in a frenzy.

"What are you standing there for? Gail's in trouble!"

Then something occurred to her and her eyes lit up.

"Right! Didn't you say yesterday your brother, the med student, was coming to see you today?"

"Is he here yet? Call him over, get him to give Gail first aid!"

I shook my head. "My brother isn't here yet."

May Cannon's face darkened at once.

"Flora Mason! What is that supposed to mean? You're not lying on purpose and letting her die, are you?"

"You and Gail have your little squabbles, sure, but this is life and death! How can you be this petty?"

The eyes of the students around me snapped to me, open with accusation.

Before I could argue back, a boy came hurrying over, pulling a tall figure along with him,

sweat pouring down his face as he yelled, "Move! I found a doctor!"

My heart jumped. I looked up, and it was my brother, John Mason.

The boy panted out his explanation.

"I was running to get the campus doctor and I ran right into this guy on the way."

"Asked him, and turns out he's from the medical school! Perfect timing, he can help!"

Every gaze locked onto my brother like they'd found their savior.

"Thank God! Hurry, save her!"

Just as my brother was about to set his things down and step forward to examine Gail Butler,

I bolted over and planted myself dead in front of him.

"No."

Everyone froze, my brother included.

He stared at me, stunned, his brow knitting tight.

"Flora, what are you doing? Saving her comes first!"

I met his baffled eyes, then turned to the shocked and accusing faces around me and said,

"My brother's still only a student. I'm afraid his skills aren't good enough."

"If he handles it wrong, he could make Gail's condition worse."

"Let's wait for the campus doctor. I already called. She said she'll be here soon."

I looked at my phone screen, at the campus doctor's reply, almost there, and felt a little steadier.

I knew Gail Butler was faking. She was in no danger at all. But the others didn't know that.

Sure enough, the second I finished, the whole crowd erupted.

"Flora Mason, are you insane? Your brother's a med student, he obviously knows more than any of us!"

"Exactly, every second counts right now, and you're actually standing in the way?"

May Cannon seized on it like she'd caught me red-handed.

"I knew it! You're deliberately letting her die!"

"You're just jealous that Gail's more popular than you! What a vicious heart you have!"

The drill instructor came over too, his face grim.

"Young lady, saving a life is everyone's duty. Your brother has the training. How can you stand in the way?"

My brother's face had gone dark too. He looked at me, his eyes full of disappointment and disapproval.

"Flora, move."

My chest tightened. Out of the corner of my eye I'd already caught a few students lifting their phones, starting to film.

I knew that if I kept blocking him now,

the two of us would be branded as cold-blooded, heartless people who'd watched someone die and done nothing,

and in the end we'd walk right back into the same fate as last time, the harassment online, the abuse hurled at us.

I clenched my teeth and steeled myself.

Under everyone's stunned stares, I dropped into a crouch,

reached into the loose fabric of Gail Butler's training uniform, and unhooked the back clasp of her bra.

Last time, it was exactly that unfastened bra clasp that Gail had used as evidence, refusing to let go of the claim that my brother had molested her.

This time, I'd unhooked it right in front of everyone.

I wanted to see what she could possibly use now to smear my brother.

"Flora Mason! What are you doing? You pervert!"

May Cannon, standing closest, shrieked and rushed at me, shoving me away.

I staggered back a step and looked at her coldly, raising my voice.

"It's this hot out, and she's wearing a bra that tight."

"The pressure was probably restricting her breathing, and that's what made her suffocate and pass out."

"I unhooked it to help her breathe again. That's basic first aid!"

May had nothing to say to that.

I ignored her and turned to my brother.

"John, you do the first aid."

"But you have to face the crowd, so everyone can see clearly every single thing you do."

Last time, it was because my brother had his back to the crowd and no one could see what he was doing

that Gail had all the room she needed to lie through her teeth and twist black into white.

My brother paused. He didn't understand, but he nodded anyway.

Then I took out my phone, opened the video function, and pointed the lens straight at Gail and my brother.

"To keep the first aid professional and transparent and avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, I'll record the whole thing."

My move left everyone there stunned.

May was shaking with rage. She jabbed a finger at me.

"Flora Mason, you are seriously sick! How filthy is your heart? "

"A senior helps out and you treat him like a thief you have to guard against? You think Gail's going to hurt your brother?"

I looked at her, cold laughter in my chest.

Afraid she'd hurt my brother? It was far more than that.

Last time, this was exactly how my brother lost his life.

This time, there was no such thing as too careful.

A few minutes later, after one firm compression, Gail slowly came to.

She opened her eyes, and this time she didn't do what she'd done last time, waking up and crying out that my brother had molested her.

Because while she'd been faking her faint, she'd heard everything I did.

She knew everyone had watched with their own eyes as my brother saved her, proper and correct, without the slightest thing out of line.

Now no one would believe an accusation.

Gail looked at my brother, grateful tears in her eyes.

"Thank you for saving me. And thank you too, Flora."

Her act was flawless.

The students around us relaxed too and began praising my brother's skill.

The drill instructor thanked him as well.

I put my phone away and turned off the recording. The huge stone hanging over my heart finally settled a little.

"I'm all right now, just still a bit dizzy. I'd like to go rest in the lounge next door for a while."

Gail said it weakly, standing up with May supporting her.

The drill instructor nodded and gave his permission.

Just then my phone buzzed. It was a message from the campus doctor.

"Here."

Everything inside me eased at last.

The campus doctor had arrived, Gail was awake, and it was over.

I had rewritten my brother's fate.

John came over and ruffled my hair, his voice carrying a hint of helpless indulgence.

"You. You scared me half to death back there. Why make such a scene out of it?"

I looked at his unharmed face and my eyes stung, tears almost spilling over.

"I just didn't want your good intentions getting twisted around."

"All right, all right. It's fine now." He smiled.

I nodded hard, ready to leave this whole mess behind with him.

Then, out of nowhere, May shouted.

"Something's wrong! Gail's passed out again!"

I whipped around and saw May come bursting out of the lounge doorway a little way off, her face twisted with terror.

She ran straight to my brother and grabbed his arm.

"Senior Mason! You have to come check on Gail!"

"She collapsed the second she got into the lounge, and we can't wake her no matter what we do!"

"Hurry! Go save her!"

And with that she was dragging him toward the lounge with everything she had.

Alarms went off in my head. Something was very wrong.

They'd changed locations.

"John! Don't go!" I screamed, lunging to pull him back.

But the moment I moved, several male students clamped down on my arms.

"Flora Mason, what are you trying to pull now?"

"Won't you be satisfied until Gail dies right in front of you?"

"We're not letting you get away with it again!"

They berated me, righteous and furious, and their grip was frighteningly strong, pinning me where I stood.

I could only watch as May shoved my brother into the lounge, and then, with a deafening slam, locked the door behind them.

"Let go of me!" I thrashed like a madwoman.

"You're the ones hurting my brother!"

But they didn't budge. If anything, they pressed down harder.

"Calm down! Your brother's saving someone!"

"How can a woman be this vicious? We wasted our praise on you earlier."

I stared at that shut door in despair, my chest hurting so much I couldn't breathe.

Everything was lining up with my last life.

Last time, the tragedy had happened in broad daylight.

This time, I'd stopped them, and they'd simply moved it to a sealed room with no witnesses.

Just as everything inside me went dead,

a shrill scream tore out of the lounge from Gail.

"Ah!"

The next second, the door was yanked open from the inside.

Gail came stumbling out, her clothes in disarray, a long tear ripped down the collar of her training uniform.

Her hair was a mess, tear tracks down her face, every inch of her the picture of someone who'd been violated.

She threw herself, sobbing, at the academic advisor who had just arrived.

"Mr. Lambert! Help me!"

"John Mason was in the lounge, and under the excuse of giving me first aid, he molested me!"

My brother came out right behind her, his face all shock and helplessness, completely lost as to what had happened.

"I didn't! I never touched her!"

He tried desperately to explain, but his voice was swallowed whole by the wall of fury around him, the curses crashing down from every direction.

Every classmate and instructor now looked at my brother differently, their eyes full of contempt and disgust.

"Shameless. Using a rescue as cover to grope a girl!"

"Looked so decent, and turns out he's an animal in a nice suit!"

May rushed forward, caught the swaying Gail in her arms, and turned to glare at us.

She rushed at me and slapped me hard across the face. It burned.

"Flora Mason! You and your brother are a pair of animals!"

"Ganging up to bully Gail like this! I'll get justice for her!"

Then Gail launched into her suicide act again.

She wailed that she didn't want to live, that her name was ruined, and threw herself at the big tree beside her.

Several girls grabbed her, and everything dissolved into chaos.

All of it lined up exactly with the nightmare from my last life, down to the smallest detail.

Just then the advisor, who'd been called over, hurried to the scene, out of breath.

His face went ashen as he looked at the two of us, and he barked out,

"John Mason, Flora Mason! What do you have to say for yourselves?"

He didn't ask a single question about how any of it started. He simply declared us guilty.

"You two, right now, this instant, kneel and apologize to Gail Butler!"

"And beg for her forgiveness!"

"Don't blow this up any bigger and drag the school's reputation through the mud!"

My brother had no way to defend himself. His face was white as paper, his body swaying like he might drop.

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and spoke coldly.

"Mr. Lambert, my brother didn't molest her. Why should we apologize?"

Clearly he hadn't expected me to push back. He froze for a beat, then flushed with rage.

"Flora Mason! What kind of attitude is this?"

"The facts are right in front of you. Gail came out with her clothes torn, and you still want to argue?"

May jumped in at once, pointing at me with righteous fury.

"Exactly! We all saw it. Your brother went into the lounge,"

"and then Gail came screaming out! Who else could it be?"

Gail slumped against the girl holding her, sobbing even more pitifully, choking out the words,

"I really thought he was helping me out of kindness. I never imagined that the second he got me into that lounge, he'd show his true face."

As she cried, she pulled open her torn collar to reveal a patch of red marks near her collarbone.

"Mr. Lambert, he even left finger marks on me. This is the proof!"

"I'm willing to be examined! All I want is for the person who hurt me to get the punishment he deserves!"

The whole speech came out through tears, brimming with a victim's courage and resolve.

With that, even the last few students who'd stayed neutral turned their eyes on my brother with disgust and anger.

"Disgusting! You really can't know a person just by looking at their face!"

"Who'd have thought someone so decent-looking would turn out to be this kind of scum!"

My brother's lips had lost all color. He looked at me, his eyes full of endless despair and confusion.

He wanted to explain, but found every word he had was pale and useless.

In my last life, this was the exact moment he'd been pushed until he broke.

I said it again. "My brother did not molest Gail Butler."

My voice was certain.

"Gail, you keep insisting my brother molested you and left finger marks behind."

"So let me ask you this. Are you sure the person who touched you in that lounge just now was my brother?"

Gail wavered a little under my stare, but she steeled herself and said,

"I'm sure it was your brother."

May let out a sneer.

"Who else would it be? Just now it was only your brother and Gail in that lounge, the two of them alone."

The cold smile at the corner of my mouth deepened.

"Is that so? Then you'd all better remember exactly what you just said."

I turned slowly to face the closed door of the lounge and called out,

"Dr. Chavez, would you mind coming out?"