Chapter 2 The unfortunate incident

Gianna's POV:

The air outside was bitter sweet. People continued with their daily lives like nothing pivotal had just happened. The hustle and bustle of the city was at its highest because it was rush hour. Everywhere I looked, there was a person running to either catch the bus or go down the subway to catch the train before it departed. Surrounded by thousands of people, I felt all alone. I felt like I was the only one left on earth with the burdens of a thousand people on my shoulder.

"Watch where you're going"

A passer by rudely commented as he bumped into me while on his way to wherever it was that he was going. I wanted to shout at him and tell him that he was the one who needed to watch where he was going because he bumped into me and not the other way around but I couldn't because even the thought of saying that to him made me feel weak.

"Don't just stand in the middle of the sidewalk. Geezers"

I didn't pay any of them any mind. Though I knew that I was getting a lot of looks from people around, I didn't care. It wasn't surprising that I was being looked at because a young girl like myself with matted hair and day old clothes standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk in front of a hospital was only searching for states from people.

"Gianna"

I heard my name being called and I turned. The ghost of a smile appeared on my lips as I set my eyes on Heather, one of my favorite nurses. She gestured for me to come to her and that was the only thing that made me move my legs in her direction.

"Are you ready to go?"

I nodded as I looked up at the hospital that had more or less been my home for the past 3 months. Though the hospital was a place that I was supposed to be happy leaving, I was sad because it had taken away a part of me without giving me anything else but pain and regret in return.

"I have something for you"

I gaped at her as I waited for her to show me what she had. It was a far reaching wish but a part of me hoped that it was a receipt showing the payment of my mothers medical bills so that she could be checked properly and given the necessary treatments. Instead, she rolled a wheelchair towards me. With a small smile, she looked up at me.

"I and some of the other nurses chipped in to get this for you. While it may not be so much, it should help with mobility"I couldn't find the words to speak. I was not expecting anything from anyone so the fact that women who didn't know me from Adam but only stayed and took care of my mother and by extension, myself in the last 3 months, could take some of their own personal money and put it towards a wheelchair for my other rendered me speechless. All I could do was look at her in gratitude as yet again, tears filled my eyes.

"It's going to be okay. We're all going to be here, waiting for you to come back"She pulled me into a hug and o allowed myself to be hugged because it had been so long since any physical contact with another person. Some days, I forgot that I was someone's daughter and not a mother. I held myself back from crying like a baby as I separated from her and stood on my own two feet.

"Thank you so much, Heather"

I sniffled as I rubbed the pads of my fingers under my eyes to take away any errant tears that may have made their way out of my eyes and also under my nose.

"You're welcome, child. You've done well"

I nodded gratefully at her words of encouragement that I didn't know I needed to hear so badly until she said them to me.

"Is my mother out?"

As another favor, the nurses spent extra time cleaning my mother up and getting her ready to leave the hospital. After the scare that she gave all of us when she almost coded because of the stress that she put on her self by raising her blood pressure too high,they were able to stabilize her. I had hoped that because of that, the hospital would allow us stay a little more while but that hope was quickly dashed when the doctor had given us discharge papers after she was stabilized.

"Yes, they're just finishing up with her. She looks extra beautiful today"

As she spoke, the doors to the hospital were thrown open and my mother was helped outside by the nurses who led her to the wheelchair. She lowered herself into it and moved her legs up. The reason why she needed the wheel chair was because the stroke affected one side of her body and made it difficult for her to move as effectively as usual.

"Thank you so much for helping us out"

Heather and the rest of the nurses smiled at us as I took my position behind my mothers wheelchair and started rolling her away. We base them goodbye and then it was just the both of us and the rest of the world.

"Why don't we stop and get something to eat? You must be hungry after all that hospital food"

My mother smiled up at me and nodded. She was happy to be out even though she was still in pain. I could see it in her eyes. I decided to stop at her favorite restaurant and pick up her favorite food.

"It seems like they're out of tables. Why don't we come back later?"

I asked as I peered into the restaurant and saw that they were super busy inside. Though I didn't have a lot of money to my name anymore, I could at least knock a few coins together to be able to pay for lunch as a treat to my mother for getting out of the hospital. I wasn't going to think about how far back that 20 or so dollars was going to set me back and just enjoy the time I had with her.

"Just go in, I'll enjoy the evening air from here"That made me look at her and I shook my head.

"No, I won't go in without you. How would I eat when you're outside waiting?"

"I'm not going to wait here while you eat, silly. Just go get the food while we go back to the house and eat together"

Oh, that was what she was saying, hm? I smiled at her and nodded. How did I tell her that the landlord was well on his way to evicting us because I ended up using the money for our rent to pay off some of her medical bills?

"Okay, mum. Love you"

"Love you too, Gia"

I stayed in the same position, looking at her and not moving. She swatted my bottom with her left hand that was easier to move than the right one all thanks to the partial stroke that she suffered.

"The food isn't going to magically appear here, you know"She joked as she gestured towards the door of the restaurant a few steps from where we were standing. I looked at it and back at her before wheeling our small suitcase closer to her.

"I'll be back before you know it"

"Take your time"

I smiled at her and started walking towards the restaurant after I made sure that my wallet and my credit card were with me. Inside, there wasn't a long line so it was soon my turn. Because of how busy the place was, it didn't take as much time to get the food for me because of how many hands were on deck to beat the crowd.

"That'll be 20.50"

I opened my purse, counted the money and passed it over to the cashier who confirmed that it was complete before taking my food that was already packed in to-go boxes and stretching it over to me.

"Thank you for your patronage at La Cient..."

Before she could finish her sentence, there was a loud sound like the screeching of brakes before the sound of a crash reached my ears. Thankfully, no one was hit around the restaurant because it happened at the area where no one was standing. The anxious chattering and noise of patrons died down in my head as I realized that the spot the car hit was around where my mother was. I didn't know when the food that was in my hand dropped to the floor as I ran out of the restaurant with my heart in my throat.