Chapter 4 Goodbye feelings!

Karla hated the hospital so much, and the beeping Holta Monitor didn't make her feel better. The hot guy she saw that day never left her mind.

How can someone be so handsome but cruel! Damn!

She knew that she was in shambles.

Her mother was checking out an old newspaper paper, nodding at every reporter. Karla smiled and sunk back into her head.

"Are you fine?" Her mum noticed her unusual silence.

She faked a smile and nodded, before pouring her a glass of water.

"Water?" She asked.

"I never said I was thirsty," her mother looked suspicious. "Is something bothering you?"

Karla drank the cup of water herself. She dropped back the cup and picked up her phone. "Nothing is bothering me, mama. I just feel a bit tired," Karla explained, hoping her mum would stop with the questions.

The lady did, but her next sentence caused Karla to gasp in shock.

"Have you called Gabriel yet? He promised to help you with some money when you need it," her mum sounded disappointed.

"O...yes. That's true," Karla couldn't believe that she forgot. "But he does have a lot going on already. I don't think I'll be relying on him for 3000 dollars. He can barely pay his house rent, Mama."

"There is something you are not getting straight here," her mother frowned. Karla banged her forehead with her palm.

"Mama, could we not talk about this again? Gabriel is trying already. Three thousand dollars is too much..."

"Gabriel is your fiance." Her mum lashed. "If he can't afford three thousand, at least he can try to tell you where to borrow it. You can't just sit down here and mumble to yourself. You've got to freaking try it out."

Karla knew there was sense in what her mum said. Gabriel might not be a multimillionaire, but he had his way around things. Maybe their love wasn't enough to win them against all odds, but who cared! They were lucky to have each other, okay?! He was a man of tactics, and she was a go-getter. He could help her out that week if life favored them. She dialed his number and he responded. She recognized his light wiggling voice, which coincides with his long neck.

"Baby," she called him before her mum, and her mum giggled like a child.

"What's up, Karla? It's been a while," he admitted.

"It really has," she confessed. "I didn't want to tell you this but mum was rushed to the hospital this afternoon."

"What?! How come?!" Gabriel's voice was more worried than shocked. "The same news," she explained. "Wow... I didn't realize it got worse. Do not beat yourself up too much, baby." Gabriel sounded like his flirty 15 year old self. She smiles. He already knew her too well to predict her reaction. She was an overthinker, and she did beat herself up.

"I am fine," she lied. "I just need 3000 dollars for her surgery. I was hoping there is someone that could lend it to us." There was silence at his end. Karla felt her stomach churn as her deepest fear unraveled. This was all pointless. Gabriel was struggling like her. "You know what, forget it. I don't realize why I am telling you. You have your own issues to face. You sponsor your siblings in college and..."

"Give me a week," his voice finally sounded.

"Gabriel, my mother doesn't have a week. She is in a life and death situation right now. No one knows how long she can survive this," Karla said with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"It is the heart we are talking about, baby. Not the brain, the heart!" "Three thousand is a lot of money, Karla. Where could I possibly get that in a few days? I can only guarantee you next week of success. It would be delusional if we think the money will fall from nowhere by this weekend." Gabriel spilled facts.

Karla felt her throat scratch and she cleared it. Her mum's hands softly caressed hers, as she told her to calm down. Karla couldn't.

"I love you, baby," Gabriel's voice said at the other end. "Love you too," Karla nodded before hanging up. "So how was it?" Her mother was enthusiastic. "Will he get the money this week?" "He said he will try," Karla said. "I told you he will help. He always helps, my love. That's the man you cherished with all your heart! That's the Gabriel we all know." Her mum was still overly excited. Karla wasn't even sure if it was about Gabriel or the money. She adjusted the roughening bedsheet.

"Mama, let me go and get your prescriptions from the pharmacy," she told her mum. "Sure my love! I do not mind staying longer here though. I have been here my whole life," her mum laughed. Karla frowned. The lady's secrets were getting out of hand. "So you won't tell me how long you've been having this disease!" Karla sounded passive aggressive.

"There are some secrets we should die with," her mum looked crafty. Karla couldn't believe that was happening. She loved her mum, yes! But there were some things about her mother that didn't add up. It makes no sense how she could just be a fan of a hospital just like that. She never even loved drugs or doctors. Who the hell was this lady anyway? Karla walked down the hospital hallway, possibly having an existential crisis. The other patients were moving about their business, buckling up the emotions within. There was a crying child who kept clinging to her mother. Karla blinked back her tears recalling the love of a mother

"What can I get for you?" The pharmacist asked as she walked into the store. Karla gave her the doctor's handwritten note. It was written so illegibly that she hadn't bothered herself to read. Like voodoo, the pharmacist figured it out and began to type it in.

"It is all 1000.99 dollars for the medication," the pharmacist informed her. What use was the 99 cents?

"Is it necessary to pay 99 cents?" Karla asked. "The 99 cents is mandatory because we compile it and donate to the orphans under our care. It is a good deed if you ask," the pharmacist smiled at her and stretched her hand.

"Card or Cash?" Karla opened her purse and brought out all her lifelong savings. Well, there goes her 1000 dollars. Her mum's medication was beginning to run out, and they needed to refill it.

"Alright, this should do," the pharmacist counted the money on a currency counter. She walked into the store, and pulled out just two drug packets.

"Expensive but worth it," the pharmacist said. "500 dollars each. Make sure you follow the doctor's instructions and do not overdose your mother," the pharmacist advised, before ignoring her. Karla walked out. Her mind was gonna explode at that moment. Why couldn't she just punch herself? Like really?!

"This 3k is a lot, but I am trying my love," Gabriel texted her as she drew closer to her mother's hospital room. She opened her keyboard and began to type.

"It isn't 3k anymore. We need four thousand because I bought mum drugs..." Alright! Enough was enough! She couldn't bear this anymore! Karla erased her text and opened the call dial. She took out the business card Anderson offered her and gazed at it. Her heart hated what she was about to go, and her gut feeling blared No! But she needed to do it.

"You made the right choice," his deep voice said when he picked up the call. It was obvious he already had her number. What a stalker!

"I am only doing this for my mother and..."

"Consider her cured. Send me the address of the hospital, I have better plans for you," the guy told her.

"O...okay." She agreed without hesitation, and the call went dead. She sighed and pressed her phone against her chest. This was bad! Very bad! Gabriel would never see her the same way again and hate her for life! She's betrayed him! She betrayed her mother!

"I am sorry," she apologized in her head. "I am really sorry."