36. Worry and concerns.

[Emily]

"Emily, what are you thinking?" Jenny hit me by the shoulders. We were on our way to the hospital after school closed, Marissa called and told us that my mother was awake and could receive visitors.

"Nothing, it's just my mother, I don't know what state I'll meet her in." I said.

"You don't have to worry, Emily, Marissa said she's fine, she got out of surgery and is in a regular ward, she'll be discharged in a few days, weeks at most." Jen comforted me with her words.

***

"Mother " I called her softly as I entered her ward.

Fresh tears gathered in my eyes but I struggled to stop them from rolling down my face, I didn't want to upset her more than she already was.

My mother looked really pale, her long hair fell around her shoulders making her look a lot younger, she looked so small in the hospital gown and I didn't like seeing the drip connected to her arm.

She had a big bruise around her eyes and cheeks.

She opened her mouth to speak and then stopped as I reached her, it seemed like she was in a lot of pain.

"Are you okay, mom?" I asked her and grabbed her hand and placed it softly in mine.

"Child." Her voice sounded cracked and it felt like her speech was forced.

"Please don't speak if it's too hard. Are you feeling any better?"

"Of course, I'm glad you went to school, I'll be fine, it was a minor accident, I'll be home in a few days, two weeks tops." She said and I nodded.

"And Dad?"

"I already spoke to him, he'll be back soon to look after you." She said and pulled me down to hug me. "I missed you baby, I hope I didn't scare you that much."

"You did mama, you scared me, I thought… I thought…." I couldn't finish my sentence as the tears I'd tried so hard to keep at bay began pouring down my face.

"It's alright baby, I'm fine, I'm sorry."

"Mi Amor." We pulled apart as my father walked into the room. "Why didn't you inform me sooner?" He looked at me in anger as he walked over to my mother and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Papa, I…"

"I asked her not to, I didn't want to bother you before your…."

"It's alright Amor, you don't have to explain, I'm glad you're okay." He said and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Stay with your mother, I need to talk to the doctor and the police, they have to tell me what exactly happened." He said and walked out of the room.

"Mama, was it not an accident?" I asked after my father left.

"You know how your father is." She replied and looked away from me.

I nodded but deep down I wasn't convinced that she was telling me the truth.

"Is Jenny here?" She asked me, changing the subject.

"Yes, she wanted to wait outside." I turned to look outside.

"Nonsense, ask her to come in."

"Alright." I answered and left her room to find Jenny, I ended up finding her at the waiting center but she was not alone, she was consoling a wailing Vicky Owens.

"Vicky." I said as I approached them slowly. "Why is she crying?" I asked Jenny.

"Oh, Emily, it's her mother, she doesn't want her to keep the baby."

"No, she can't do that."

"Of course she can." Vicky wiped her tears and stood up. “Didn't I tell you, Emily”—she grabbed my shoulders before continuing. “My life is not my own and she can do with my baby as she pleases.”

“I’m so sorry Vicky, I don't know how to help you.” I felt so sad and helpless.

“It's alright, you can't do anything to help me anyways, just make sure that this doesn't get out.” she said and we nodded.

“Miss Owens, the doctor is ready for you.” A nurse walked out and called her.

“She's not even here.” Vicky looked at her wristwatch and muttered. “I just need a sec.” she said and the nurse walked away.

“If you want, we can go with you.” I offered but she shook her head.

“No, go be with your mother, it's not like I'm taking it out yet, it's just a consultation.” She said and walked away.

"I'm so sorry this is happening to Vicky." I sighed.

"Yeah. How is your mother?"

"She's alive." I sighed again. "She's asking for you."

"Okay, I saw your father walk past a while ago, I hope he wasn't too mean?"

"Nah, he was just upset I didn't call him sooner." I said and she nodded.

"Let's go then."

We walked back to the room and my father was no longer there.

"Where's Dad?" I asked.

"You know how your father is, he's talking to the police." She said and waved the topic off.

"No, mama." I was agitated that she wasn't taking this as seriously, I mean, I could've lost her.

"I need to know if this is serious. You said it was an accident. Was it really?" I moved closer to her and asked.

"Ayy, chica, Jenny, cómo estás?" My mother asked, completely ignoring my question.

"Tia, esta bien." Jenny smiled and said she was okay in her broken Spanish dialect that always made me laugh but today I didn't find it hilarious.

The situation on ground was much more serious, my mother's refusal to respond to my questions could only mean one thing, it was more serious than I thought.

"I'm going to find papa."

"Ayy, esperar, wait, por favor, please, niño, child." My mother hurriedly stopped me.

"If you're not going to be honest with me, I'm going to find who is." I turned towards the door but before I could go out, the door opened and in walked my Dad.

"I already spoke to the police, it was an accident, some drunk truck driver rammed into your mother's car." He said, looking sadly at her. "I'm sorry I wasn't here." He added and pulled me into his arms.

"Dad." My voice cracked as I wrapped my arms around him and began to cry softly.

"Ayy, it's okay, my child. I'm sorry you had to bear it all alone." He embraced me and kissed my head. "You must be tired. Go home with your friend. I'll stay here with mama."

"No, I want to stay." I rushed to my mother's side and gave her a small hug.

"Niño, your father is right. You must be drained. I'm fine, your father will stay with me. Go home and you can come and see me tomorrow."

"Are you sure, mama?" I asked. I hoped she wasn't pretending to be fine in front of me.

"Yes, child."

"Jenny." My father started and I gulped. He wouldn't scold me for hanging out with her right? " Thank you for taking care of my child, you're a good friend to her." He added and I let out a small breath.

"We're best friends uncle, she'll do the same for me." Jenny replied and we hugged each other.

I hugged my mother one last time before we left the hospital. I was very reluctant to leave but I knew I had to.

Jenny offered to stay with me when we got home but I refused. I knew if she stayed I'd bring up the situation with Mr. Ivan and I didn't see a way out of that.

We'd have a fight and I just couldn't handle that right now.

"It's alright, Jen. I just want to take a long bath and then sleep."

"Okay, call me if you need anything." She said hugged me and then left.

I thought of Ace after she left and I wondered if I could bring myself to go to his house. His family was one of the richest in town so his family's mansion address was not news to anybody.

I really wanted to know how he was doing so I decided to call him. I locked the front door and walked up to my room and as I dialed his number my heart began to race.

Much to my disappointment he didn't pick my call even after two tries and so I decided not to call him again.

I didn't want to seem clingy when we weren't even much of anything.

We'd just kissed a couple of times and while that was precious to me, I was sure it wasn't much of anything to him.

I prepared a warm bath and then took off my clothes to soak in. I didn't know how much time had passed as I lay in the warm tub. My muscles felt very relaxed and I felt less tense.

I heard a creak on the stairs and my eyes flew open in terror. I made sure I locked the door after Jenny left so there was no one anyone could get in the house.

Except someone was in the house.

I heard a voice but the pounding of my heart was pounding so loudly I could barely hear what it was saying.

The knob of the bathroom door turned twice and I let out a loud shriek.

"Don't be scared Em, it's just me."