When the doctor and nurse left the room, the man returned, walking slowly and keeping his head bowed. He took a seat next to Vance's bed and whispered, "What is your name, my dear?"
Vance looked up at the man for a moment and without thinking blurted out, in the girl's voice, "Billy Vance."
The man, still struggling to reconcile the name "Billy" with the young woman lying in the bed, nodded slowly. "Well, Billy. I'm really sorry for..." He trailed off, unsure of how to continue. "Billy? But you're a girl and your name is Billy?" he asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
As he thought about it, the man felt a strange sense of pride that another parent had named their daughter Billy. It was a bold choice, but he admired the bravery of it. "I might just name my daughter Billy too," he mused.
"But what would Martha think?" He wondered what his wife would think of the idea. He shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind. He had more important things to focus on right now.
As soon as the words had left his mouth, Vance realized his mistake. He had given away his name! Panicking, he blurted out, "Wait, wait! I didn't say Billy Vance. You misheard me. That's not my name." In his mind, he was pleading with the system, "Hey, Mr. System. What's the host's name?!"
[Hollywood]
Vance's eyes widened as he repeated the name. "My name is Hollywood," he said, his voice shaking. "Wait, what?" He was so caught off guard by the name that he didn't know how to react.
The man was clearly taken aback by the name "Hollywood," but he quickly recovered and said, "Nice name you've got there." His tone was polite, but his expression still betrayed his confusion.
While Vance was trying to convince the man that "Hollywood" was a perfectly normal name, he was having an internal battle with the system. "I don't remember hearing her name as Hollywood in the memories you showed me!" he thought furiously.
The system seemed to sense his frustration and responded… rather thundered back a response.
[My name is Hollywood, not Mr. System. I was just correcting your mistake.]
"Dammit!" Vance couldn't help but let out a groan of frustration. He had been outsmarted by the very system that was supposed to be helping him. "That robotic controller! Ha!"
"Are you all right, Miss Hollywood?" the man asked seeing as she had been lost in her own thoughts, reaching out a hand to help her. But as soon as his hand touched her shoulder, Vance recoiled in pain.
The body wasn't used to the sudden movement, and Vance felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He winced, trying to control his breathing. "I'm fine," he managed to say through gritted teeth.
"I need to get out of here," Vance thought desperately. "I need to find a director." He knew he had to convince the man to leave first.
Gathering his courage, he fixed the man with a steely gaze. "You've already paid the bills, right?" he asked, his feminine voice sounding like nails on a chalkboard. "Then go home to your family. I'm fine here."
The man's mouth fell open, shock and disbelief written all over his face. He had been shunned in the harshest way ever, and by a girl no less! "But... I thought..." he stammered, trying to find the words to explain himself. "I wouldn't leave until I'm sure you're fine," he finally managed to say. "After all, I was the one who hit you."
"Yaahh!" Vance yelled, his voice cracking as he tried to make himself heard over the pain he was feeling in the body. "You didn't hit me with your car! I jumped in front of it!"
He was losing his patience, and he knew he had to get the man out of his way as soon as possible. "Just leave, please!" he pleaded, pointing to the door.
The man was at a loss for words. He had never been in a situation like this before, and he didn't know how to react. 'She jumped in front of my car?' he asked himself again and again. He couldn't trust if she was mentally okay or not but the final resolution was to do according to the lady's wish.
Finally, he took out a business card from his pocket and placed it on the bedside table. "If you need anything, call me," he said, his voice shaky.
He turned to leave, casting one last glance at the woman in the bed. She looked exhausted, but her eyes were fierce, daring him to question her again.
The man left the room, still in a state of disbelief. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she had jumped in front of his car. The door closed behind him, and the woman was left alone in the room.
"Yes!" Vance let out a sigh of relief as the door closed behind the man. But his moment of celebration was cut short as the door opened again, this time revealing a nurse.
"Hello, dear!" The nurse's voice was sweet and soothing, and she gave Vance a warm smile. But Vance's own smile faded as soon as he saw her face. "Now that Mr. Hendrick is gone, let me watch over you," the nurse said, and Vance felt a shiver run down his spine.
'Oh, good lord! Save me from this temptation.'