Chapter1
1535 Words
Thunderstorm.
Daphne's POV
I knocked gently on the door, my heart beating so vigorously that I thought it would escape from my rib cage.
I was in my scrub, drench to my feet.
It rained heavily that night, but the thunderstorm didn't stop me from running almost a mile.
"Good evening ma'am," I greeted as the door flew open.
"Good evening Daphne." She greeted me, scanning my trembling body. "The Thunderstorm is horrible, why are you here so late? How did you even get here? The roads are closed, no taxi will be willing to drive you all the way." She blabbed instead of letting me in.
"I need your help." I blurted out, not letting her fake concern discourage me from stating my reason for being there on a rainy night.
"What? What help do you need?" She asked with a shrug, her wrinkled forehead an evidence of how much my words had provoked her.
"I need some money, Aunt Vivian…" The frown on her forehead descended to her lips and then to every part of her overly large face. "Mom is dying and she needs some dose of insulin. Her blood sugar rose so much, Aunty. She will die if she isn't injected with insulin." I stuttered out the words, and droplets of tears made their way to my already wet cheek.
"Cyra has diabetes? I thought she was diagnosed with blood cancer." She murmured, ignoring the need to save my mother's life.
"She needs the insulin aunt, I don't have enough to pay for it." I said, avoiding her eyes.
"You're a nurse, aren't you? Why can't you pay for your mother's healthcare? Don't you have health insurance or something." She blabbed on still standing between me and the entrance to her warm flat.
"I'm an intern nurse aunt. I earn little and half of what I earn automatically goes into paying my student loan." She chuckled, causing me to take a step back.
"Student loan? Really? What's the use of going to medical school if you're gonna end up paying student's loan for the rest of your life?" Her chuckle turned into a light laugh as she relished in my misery.
" Aunt Vivian please, I need to get insulin now. I promise to pay you back in a few days. Just five hundred bucks, that's all I need." I said, trying to be as convincing as possible.
I had no idea how I would pay her back. Would probably borrow from somewhere else just to pay her back.
"Five hundred bucks is a lot of money girly. I aren't running a charity foundation here. You are gonna pay back with interest. You are gonna pay a hundred dollars more." She said greedily with a smirk and I nodded in affirmation. So fast that I felt like my neck would snap.
Without another word, she walked back into the house and slammed the door loudly. I stood on her porch, in the terribly cold night for what seemed like forever.
She finally opened the door and threw some dollar bills at my face. I bent down to pick the money from the wet ground and I could feel her wide grin from above my head.
"That's five hundred bucks. You better pay back before the weekend and with interest too." She snarled as I counted the money.
She watched count the money and slammed the door again as she returned into her flat.
I sighed as I wrapped the money in my dry shawl which I had kept in my pocket.
Aunt Vivian isn't related to mom and I. But I called her aunt Vivian just as she had always demanded. We lived in the same neighborhood when I was younger and she was a familiar face. Although Vivian was mean to Mom, Mom always said she was like family to us.
I never believed any of it.
Mom was the only family I knew.
I would have done anything to save her that night, even if it meant shivering on Vivian's porch.
It was my last option and I was glad I took it.
I pushed the money into my pocket as I made my way back into the flooded streets.
My journey back home to my sick mother had begun and I never knew how tough it would get.
I took bold steps and I walked through the lonely streets, my old handy touch held in a tight grip. Footsteps and throat clearing from behind made me flinch as I was already frightened by the incessant lightening and thunder.
"Hey, lady. Need some help?" A rough voice called out from behind and I hastened my steps.
No one offers help in the streets of New York City, especially not in the dead of a stormy night.
"Why are you running away? We just want to help." Another voice said and I knew I had unwanted company.
"Slow down lady, we aren't gonna bite." They guffawed as their steps grew louder and closer.
An uncalculated step on the slippery road, sent me falling to the ground, my back colliding with its harsh and tough surface. My torch went off as its old batteries encountered the water that stood on the road.
Their laughter loudened as they caught up with me.
I layed on the floor unable to get up as four ugly looking men in ugly coats hovered above me.
"Oh boy! She's a redhead. A pretty woman skipping around in the dark streets of New York." One of the men chirped and his words jarked me off the ground.
"I don't want any trouble. I just want to go home." I said as I continued in my steps but one of the men was quick to stop me. He pulled me by the arm and swung me to my previous position.
"We want to go home too pretty." They laughed hysterically as they surrounded me.
"What's in your pocket? It seems to be swollen." One asked and I swallowed hard as pure anxiety and fright kicked in.
"Nothing, there's nothing in my pocket. Let me go." I said as I tried to force my way out. A slap to the face sent me crashing on the wet ground with a bloody lip.
"Please, my mother is sick. She needs insulin, I need to get her some insulin." I whimpered as I held my face in my palms, my eyes watering.
"Listen here, we need to buy crack. Give us the money and we won't hurt you. We got all night to keep you entertained." One said with a grin as he bent to my level. He forced his large fingers into my scrub's pocket, pulled out the dollar bills wrapped in the shawl and tossed it to another man.
"This is a lot of money. We just hit the jackpot." They gleed as a throbbing descended on my head and then on my chest.
The man who took the money returned to my side, a mischievous smirk on his lips.
There was no way out, no escape from the thugs.
A far light from an approaching car gave me a glimpse of hope as I ran to the center of the road. With my hands waving high above my head, I began to yell.
"Help me, please help me!" I yelled and the car came to an abrupt stop.
I was starstruck as two men got out of the car but my daze was nothing compared to the fright on the thugs' faces.
"Help me please.." I repeated as I ran to their side.
They were dressed in black, one taller than the other. The taller man's face was almost invincible, covered by this curly hair which hung above his lips.
"Let the lady go," his voice was strong and frightening as it dominated the night. He raised his head and I gasped at the color of his bewitching eyes.
"Troy… it Troy," the thugs mumbled and they moved away with fright.
They ran away into the night and I'm left trembling in the middle of the strangers.
"Please help me, I need to get to my mother. She's sick." I pleaded with my eyes on the ground.
"Get into the car, we will take you to your mother."
I did as instructed and the car sped away.
***
The car came to an abrupt stop in front of our old flat. I jumped down from the car and made my way into the house.
"Mom! Mom, I'm here, where are you?" I called out as I ran through the narrow walkways of the house.
I ran into the kitchen and the sight of my mother lying lifelessly on the cold floor forced a scream out of my lungs.
"Help me!" I yelled as I scooped her burning body into my arms. I led my hand to her wrist and couldn't feel her pulse.
"No…no oh no," I cried out as my eyelids became heavy as I heard stumping footsteps approach me.
"Are we... Are we too late?" One of the gentlemen who had brought me to the house asked and I stared at him, uncertain of my answer.
- Writer
