chapter 10
934 Words
Gwen didn’t go to Lucien. She told herself that every five minutes that she could do it. Even when his messages sat unread in her phone. Even when the number eighty thousand kept flashing through her head. Even when her mother’s pale face wouldn’t leave her alone.
She wasn’t going. She had survived this long without him. She could survive one more day. At least that was what she kept telling herself.
The next morning Gwen was standing outside a diner before sunrise. The manager barely looked at her application before saying, “We’re not hiring.”
Gwen swallowed. “Please. I can work nights. Weekends. Doubles.”
“We’re not hiring.”
The door closed at her face.
She stood there for a second before forcing herself to move. The second place wasn’t hiring either. Neither was the third. Or the fourth.
By noon her feet hurt and her stomach was empty. Nobody wanted a college student with inconsistent hours. Nobody wanted someone who looked exhausted. Nobody wanted her.
By three in the afternoon she sat on a bench outside a grocery store and counted her money. Thirty-seven dollars. That was all. Thirty-seven dollars against eighty thousand.
A bitter laugh escaped her. The math wasn’t even funny. Her phone buzzed, and she ignored it. She knew who it was.
A second later it buzzed again, this time she declined the call.
Immediately a message came in.
You're being stubborn, Gwen.
Gwen stared at the screen, then typed back. Leave me the f**k alone.
The reply came almost instantly.
No.
Her jaw tightened as she typed.
You didn't want me. Remember?
Several seconds passed, then another message came in.
And yet, you're thinking about me.
Gwen almost threw the phone away. Instead, she shoved it in her pocket and stood. She needed somewhere to sleep tonight. That was the bigger problem.
The shelter downtown was full. The second one had a waiting list. The third turned her away because they didn’t have space.
By evening she found herself sitting outside the hospital again. She watched people come and go through the automatic doors. Families, couples, friends. People who had somewhere to go after.
Gwen wrapped her arms around herself. She was tired. God, she was so damn tired.
Her phone rang. This time it was the hospital. Fear settled in her stomach and she answered on the first ring.
“Hello?”
“Miss Brooks.” It was her mother’s doctor. Gwen stood instantly. “What happened?”
“We need you to come in.”
Her heart dropped. “I’m coming.”
She ran inside. The doctor was waiting outside the room and his expression told her everything before he spoke.
“Her condition deteriorated overnight.”
Gwen’s legs felt weak. “Is she…”
“She’s stable for now.”
For now. Those two words nearly broke her.
“The diagnosis procedure is scheduled for tomorrow morning,” the doctor continued. “We’ll need the deposit before then.”
Gwen stared at him. Tomorrow. She didn't have a dine on her. How was she going to pay for the deposit?
The doctor sighed. “I know you’re trying.”
That somehow made it worse, because she was trying and it wasn’t enough. Nothing she did was enough.
When she finally went into her mother’s room she forced herself to smile. Her mother smiled back, weak and fragile. Still trying to comfort Gwen even now.
“Hey, baby.”
Gwen sat beside the bed. Her throat hurt. “You should be resting.”
Her mother laughed softly. “You sound like the doctor.”
Gwen tried to laugh too. It didn’t work. Her mother studied her face and then her smile faded.
“Gwen.”
The single word almost shattered her. “What?”
“You look scared.”
Gwen looked away. Because if she looked at her mother any longer she was going to cry. And if she cried she wasn’t going to stop.
Her mother squeezed her hand. “No matter what happens, I’m proud of you.”
That did it. Gwen’s eyes burned.
“No.” Her voice cracked. “You don’t get to say things like that.”
Her mother blinked. “Gwen…”
“No.” She stood too fast and the chair scraped loudly. “You’re getting the treatment.”
Her mother looked at her sadly. “Baby…”
“You’re getting it.”
Because she couldn’t lose her too. Not after everything else. Not after losing home. Not after losing safety. Not after losing every piece of her life one by one.
Her mother fell silent. A long moment passed, then she whispered, “I love you.”
Gwen nodded because she couldn’t trust herself to speak. A few minutes later she left the room. The hallway felt cold and empty.
She leaned against the wall and finally looked at her phone. Twenty-three unread messages. Every single one from Lucien.
Her chest tightened at the latest one sat at the bottom.
Come to the estate
Gwen stared at it, then at the hospital room behind her, then back at the screen. Her fingers trembled. One hundred thousand dollars. Enough to save her mother. Enough to change everything, and enough to destroy everything too.
Slowly Gwen closed her eyes. When she opened them again she typed just three words.
I'm coming.
The reply came before she could even lower the phone.
Good.
The single word sent a chill down her spine, because it didn’t feel like relief. It felt like the moment a trap finally snapped shut.
- Writer
