Chapter 2 Food bag
LAYLA
I reached the hospital in time. Thankfully, I was able to cash it out in time. I knew it wouldn't be enough for all the surgeries my mother needed. But it would be enough for the doctors to start up with her treatment. I sat down in the waiting room. I felt like I was holding something heavy on my chest but I had to keep it there. I couldn't break down. Not until I knew that my mother was alright.
Taking a deep breath, I walked towards the vending machine to get something to munch on. I didn't know how hungry I was. I was about to choose a snack when I heard a loud thud from near the stairs. The vending machine wasn't far away from the staircase.
There was an elegant old woman standing at the top. Her bag had slipped from her hand. Before she could slip down the stairs, my body moved on its own and I was able to grab onto her wrist. “Are you alright, ma'am?” I asked in a gentle tone, pulling her back up. She looked at me with a cloudy face. I helped her to a chair.
I watched a man walking toward us. From the way he walked, it felt like someone with power was making his way towards us. But one look on his face and I saw a pair of concerned eyes on us. He didn't look at me. He just knelt down on the ground without caring for his expensive dress pants once, and grabbed the woman's hand.
“What happened? Are you alright, Granny? Where the fuck is CJ? I told him to stay right by your side all the time.” My heart was pounding in my chest as I heard him growling at his people. But at the same time, his voice was soft and gentle as he talked to his grandmother.
For a moment, a thought crossed my mind. A man like him. Someone who is power as he walked, terror to the world but for the people he loved, he was soft. Just like water. “Oh, I sent him to fetch something cold and sweet for me. My blood sugar was getting low. Thank God, this kind young lady caught me before I would have fallen down the stairs. I would have broken bones.” She spoke in a calmed tone.
His brown eyes turned to me. My heart skipped a beat for no reason when he looked into my eyes, as if staring straight into my soul. Gulping hard, I tried to turn my gaze from his eyes but I just couldn't. As if my neck had jammed completely.
He turned his attention back to his grandmother. He helped her up and they walked away. Until they were gone, I didn't realize how my insides were aching to let go of the ocean I had been holding in. Tears welled up into my eyes. I got up from my seat and ran into the room where my mom had been admitted for months.
I was so at the verge of breaking that I didn't even bother to lock the door. After all, it was a private room, occupied. I was kneeling on the ground, my upper body on the couch and I let go of the angry tears I had been holding in.
For the betrayal from my own fiance I thought would never hurt me, the man I poured my heart out to so many times. I didn't know why he would betray me. Jake and I had been best friends since childhood. Our mothers grew up together, in the same neighborhood. After high school, we started dating and on my 30th birthday, he proposed to me.
We were supposed to get married a year later. But mom fell sick so suddenly and with my credit score, I couldn't take loans. I couldn't marry him with that much on my plate. I didn't want to burden him. But I was so wrong about him. He didn't have an ounce of shame when I found him naked in bed with my step sister.
I was punching the couch but it was only hurting my hand. It took me a while to finally calm down.
Hours passed. I was sitting alone in the waiting area. It was cold and the hospital was almost empty. Empty corridors were terrifying. I had to control my emotions. At some point, I might have had a blink of sleep. Because when I woke up, I found a bag sitting beside me with a thank you note pasted on it. I looked around. No one was around. The hallway was completely empty and dark, except for one light that was illuminating above my head.
I opened the bag and my stomach growled loudly like an animal. It had a sandwich, a croissant and a huge cup of latte in it. Ald a bottle of water that stated, “stay hydrated!” Somehow, with everyone, every storm that was brewing in my life, that one bag brought me a little bit of warmth, a comfort that I needed so badly.
With a small smile on my face, I took a bite. It was at that very moment when I realized how hungry I actually was. And I didn't even get a sip of water after the procedure of egg retrieval. How cruel my own father was.
After every way Sabina had ruined my life, he still decided to take her side. But it was something I had expected of him. He had done it all his life. The only difference, my mom didn’t fight. But she should have. I shooed my thoughts away. For a while, I just wanted to believe that I deserved someone caring for me as well. And it made me happy after decades. But how could Sabina let that happen?
As if she had some psychic telling her everything about me. Every moment where I was genuinely happy, she was there to ruin it. And it happened again. When I was enjoying that food with a small smile on my face, she sent me a text with a one shot image. When I opened it, my eyes filled with tears.
