Bound by survival

Chapter 3

I couldn’t sleep that night. I just stirred, turning from one side of the bed to another, my eyes fixed to the ceiling just waiting for morning to fall. Every time I tried to close my eyes, my thoughts grew louder.

“Hey, wake up,” Macy’s voice called softly, tapping my shoulders. I opened my eyes, realizing it was morning already. Somehow, I had slept without noticing.

I reached out for my phone and saw a lot of texts and missed calls from Eric.

One message caught my attention: “I came by your place after class, but no one was home. I didn’t even see Macy. What’s going on”

He must have been so bothered. I thought to myself as I scrolled through the rest of his messages before I gave him a call.

“Anna,” he answered quickly, like he had been waiting with the phone in his hands. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said in a really low tone.

“No you are not,” he replied immediately.

“You weren’t even in school, and I went by your apartment yesterday after class. No one was there. Tell me, what’s going on?”

I could hear the worry in his voice, even through the phone.

“It’s Ashley, she collapsed yesterday.” I swallowed hard.

“Mom called me on my way to school, so I had to go straight to the hospital,” I said, as I felt a heavy weight in my chest.

“Collapsed?” Eric repeated without hesitation. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s stable for now but the doctor said she has to undergo surgery,” I replied. “ I’ll be going to the hospital this morning.”

“Which hospital?” he asked.

“St. Mary’s,” I answered.

“Okay, I’ll come by later,” he added. “Please don’t worry too much, she’ll be fine.”

The line went dead as he hung up.

“Eric, right?” Macy asked as she came out of the bathroom with her red robe.

“Yeah, he was so worried,” I answered her,“ He said he'd come by the hospital.”

“Oh, okay then,” she said reluctantly.

The way she said it caught my attention, but I brushed it aside. What was I expecting her to say, anyway?

I got up from the bed and went straight into the bathroom to freshen up.

After I freshened up, I pulled on a brown long-sleeved, body-hugging dress and went into the living room to meet Macy, who was dressed in casual trousers and a basic top. She had already made eggs and toast with coffee set beside them on the table.

“I’m not hungry,” I said, shaking my head.

“Come on, Anna,” she said gently, “You haven’t had anything to eat since yesterday. At least put something in your stomach before we head to the hospital. You don’t want to get sick either.”

I hesitated, then took a few bites of the food she made. After that, we headed out.

By the time we got to the hospital, mom was already there with Ashley. She was awake but looked pale and exhausted, lying still on the bed.

Macy and I greeted mom.

“Hey sis,” I said, trying my best to look happy. I even smiled, as I walked straight to her.

I wrapped my hands around her carefully and pulled back just enough to look at her face.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“I feel better,” she responded.

I nodded then squeezed her hand gently before turning to Mom. “Did the doctor say anything else?”

Mom shook her head. “No, he only just came in a few minutes ago to check on her.”

I sighed

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. I turned expecting to see a nurse or a doctor, but it was Eric.

“Hey,” I said, giving him a hug. He hugged me back.

His eyes went straight to Ashley. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” she replied. “Just tired.”

“Okay, that’s good. Be strong for Mom and Anna,” he said with a smile.

Then he looked at me. “Let’s talk outside for a minute,” he whispered.

“Okay,” I said, then followed him outside into the hallway.

“So,” he said, “what’s really going on?”

I took a deep breath, tears already filling my eyes.

“The doctor said her condition has gotten worse, and she urgently needs a bone marrow transplant. The cost of the surgery is extremely high.”

Eric went quiet for a moment. He took both of my hands and looked me straight in the eyes.

“You know I’ll always be here, right?” he said.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

After a pause, he added, “I don’t know how much I can help, but I’ll try.” Then pulled me into a tight hug and kissed on my forehead

“Thank you,” I whispered.

I felt a little relief, Eric always had a way of making things feel better. He was always there when I needed him. Sometimes, though,I wondered if I bothered him too much.

We walked back into the room together.

Macy looked up when she saw us. Her eyes lingered on Eric for just a second too long before she looked away.

“I’m sorry for making you guys worried,” Ashley said out of nowhere.

“Hey, It’s fine, baby,” Mom said softly, pulling her closer and gently rubbing her hair. “That’s what we are here for

“When am I going home?” Ashley asked quietly as she looked up at Mom.

Mom and I exchanged a look.

“Soon,” Mom replied, but her voice didn’t sound convincing.

Ashley turned to me. “You and Macy aren’t missing school because of me, right?”

My chest tightened. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Yeah, don’t think about it,” Macy quickly added.

“We’ll catch up on whatever we missed. You just focus on getting better.”

Ashley gave a small nod and a faint smile.

She hated being the reason everything stopped.

Mom brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “You just rest sweetheart. That’s all that matters right now.

I looked at Ashley, and the first thing that came to my mind was the amount the doctor mentioned. The number didn’t even feel real. It sounded impossible.

But as I watched her lying there, pale and exhausted but still trying to smile for us. At that moment, one thing became clear.

I don’t care how impossible it was. I would work myself to the bone if I had to. I would do whatever it took to make sure she walked out of this hospital smiling and healthy.

I wasn’t going to let my sister die.