Unforgotten Ties

Chapter 3

CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE.

(Previous Incident)

Selena was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for her brother and herself when she heard a knock on the door. The air was filled with a delightful aroma of toasting bread, sausages and the scent of brewing tea Selena was making.

"Who could that be?” She thought.

She dropped the bowl of raw eggs on the marble counter before going to answer the door.

"Open the damn door already Selena." The person knocking yelled.

"Linda, that crazy girl." Selena sighed, hurriedly opened the door and Linda immediately engulfed her in a tight hug.

"Jeez, what the f**k is wrong with you, get off me!" Selena screamed, trying to push Linda before she chokes her with her bone-crushing hug.

Linda laughed as she let go of Selena. Both of them went to the kitchen while Selena continued maing breakfast.

"Come on girl, don't be like that, I've missed you so much." Linda smiled.

"Well, I haven't missed you a single bit, we saw each other yesterday girl." Selena teased. Linda frowned.

"You're so boring, you're not even sweet," Linda said with an angry pout. Selena laughed at her action.

"Don't be a crybaby."

"Whatever, where's Nathan?” Linda asked.

“He's usually out here with you , he never lets you out of his sight." Linda continued. Selena sighed.

"What's wrong?" Linda asked worriedly.

"He's sleeping, he hasn't been feeling well since last night, I'm worried about him Linda, I asked him to get some rest," Selena said, almost in tears.

Selena is an orphan who lost her parents in a ghastly car accident and ever since then she has to fend for both her and her little brother Nathan. Life hasn’t been quite easy for her and to add to her struggles, she was currently laid off at work for refusing to accept her manager’s advances in the restaurant she worked in.

She just couldn't imagine herself doing such a thing for money. She refused to sleep with him although he'd promised to make her life better and provide better opportunities. She turned him bluntly which led to the manager trying to force himself on her. She slapped him and that was the end of her job, ever since then, she's been unable to get another job.

She's so beautiful and it's hard to see someone who'll want to offer her a job without trying to get her to sleep with them. She’s been applying for jobs and going for interviews but luck definitely isn’t on her side.

Thinking about her life ordeal always gets to her .she would break down, get depressed and go for days without food. if it hadn't been for her little brother and the determination to give him a better life, she would have given up on life a long time ago, but for her brother, she's been enduring everything and kept on pushing, if only their parents were alive, things would never have been like this.

Everything changed when they passed away, and their lives moved from good to worse.

"Selena," Linda called, tapping her shoulders lightly.

Selena flinched as she came back to her senses, she was so deep in thought that she didn't realize Linda has been calling her.

"What's wrong with you? What were you thinking about?" Linda asked.

Selena was about to say something when she heard her little brother's voice.

"Selena," Nathan called weakly from the door leading to the kitchen.

Selena and Linda turned to look at him, she noticed one of his hands was on his chest, and his little face held pain.

"Nathan." Selena panicked in fright at her brother's posture.

"It hurts." That was the last thing Nathan managed to say before he collapsed to the ground.

"Nathan!!" Selena and Linda both screamed out simultaneously.

★

The Hospital...

Nathan was rolled in with a stretcher as the nurses trailed behind him. Selena held the stretcher as she ran also, hot tears were streaming down her cheeks. Linda ran behind them.

"Nathan, please stay with me, okay? Stay with me!" Selena cried.

They finally got to the ward and they rolled Nathan in.

"Miss please step back, you can't go in." A nurse said.

"What? No! I want to stay with my brother." She declined.

"Please Selena, let's do as she says," Linda said as she held Selena's hand.

"Miss you're only delaying your brother's treatment." The nurse said and Selena sighed, she didn't want to delay his treatment.

She stepped back and the door was locked, she tried peeping but it was blurry.

Selena and Linda went and sat on a bench close to the ward at the hospital lobby. Selena hated hospitals and the memories she has had there weren’t pleasant. The air was musty, drug stench, the smell of death and cries of babies and people in pain filled the air. Tears kept flowing from Selena’s eyes, she was scared for her brother. He’s her only family and she doesn’t want to lose him too.

A few minutes later...

The ward opened and they were called in by the doctor. Selena and Linda went in and they saw Nathan sleeping quietly in the bed.

"Miss, where are your parents?" The doctor asked, she heard when Selena called Nathan her brother earlier.

"They aren't around." Selena lied, she didn't want to go into much detail about her family's situation.

"Your brother is suffering from a congenital heart disease." The doctor said staring intensely at Selena.

"What!!!" Selena and Linda screamed out loud while staring at each other in uttermost shock.