Chapter 1

EMMA•.

…

“ shit!” I hissed at my keys that fell to the ground after a second attempt to open the door,“ damn door” I muttered with frustration, cleaning my eyes were blurry with tears as I struggled to open the door to the apartment,

Today was a very shitty day and I couldn’t think of anything that could top my share of bad luck, I finally got the door opened,

I picked up my bag and trudged into the apartment and I only hoped my mom wouldn’t notice how miserable I looked, the woman knew everything at a glance, I tell you!

I walked fast to the small fridge beside the small sink of our little kitchen, taking a glass cup of chill water to drink and cool my head, I then washed my face with water from the sink, pushing away my long brunette hair from my face, so it won’t stick,

I looked at the small mirror In the living room, scanning my face to see the small red blotches under my green eyes from crying, I only hoped that my mom wouldn't notice

“ Mom?” I called out before picking up my glass of water, I took another sip, but there was no reply, “mom are you in?” I voiced again, she had left numerous calls and I wanted to know what happened, I reached my pocket for my cell phone to call her, before I walked into the hallway,

My heart stopped at the scene before me, there she was, my mom, lying on the floor with her phone ringing beside her, the glass cup from my hand fell and shattered as my body became Frozen with fear,

“ oh my God! Mom!” I screamed as panic rose from me, I stood there with shock frozen on my pale face, I shakily ran to the unconscious body of my mother on the floor.

“ Oh my God! Mom! Please wake up!” I called out desperately as I saw dried blood on her nose,

How was I so stupid? I had dismissed any calls or texts from my phone today because I had broken up with my ex-boyfriend Paxton Green, he was a heartless monster who cheated on me multiple times, and I had to end it with him,

And the only way I could make it final was to not answer any of his calls, but I was such a fool! My moronic decision made me dismiss my mom’s call when she was in pain! When she was in desperate need of my help!

“ Please wake up” I drawled out as my hand reached out to grab my phone that was beside me and called the emergency number of an ambulance

“ Hello? Help please I require help! My mom…she is unconscious !” That was what I could remember everything felt like a daydream when the paramedics rushed in and wheeled her into the ambulance and I entered the white vehicle too never letting go of her hands,

my body felt numb throughout the entire ride to the hospital, my phone buzzed in my pocket, and checked the ID to see it was Amy,

my best friend since when I was twelve in middle school, and now we were both struggling twenty-one-year-olds in college

I closed my eyes to try to stop the tears from falling before I answered the call, but immediately I did, she could tell something was wrong,

“Emma. What's wrong?” she asked me in panic,

“ Amy, mom… she, she is in”

“ don’t say another word I’ll be there soon!,” she replied with haste, as I could hear shuffling on the other end of the call, before the loud slam that was Amy’s door,

I only nodded even though she couldn’t see me and told her the address of the hospital before I cut the call, I held my whimpers until my mom was in the emergency room,

No! I was unable to lose her, She was my rock! She was my everything! She raised me as a single mom ever since my father died when I was four years old, she worked odd jobs to give me what she could, and I made my promise to give her a good life!

Even though we never had much, though I was now working two jobs to pay for tuition in college, we were happy,

I heard fast footsteps approaching where it sat, my hands circled my body to give me comfort and hope that it wasn’t a life-threatening situation,

“ Emma!” I heard Amy’s familiar voice, she stopped to look at me with a broken expression, there were tears falling from her eyes, she neared me in large stride and took me into her embrace

“ It’s alright, it's going to be alright Emma”.

That was when I let go, my tears fell, I didn’t care, I just cried hard until my body felt so weak, “Amy, what about my mom, oh my God! What if she-”

“ Shhh-don’t say that! Do not! Let’s Wait for the doctor” she whispered cleaning my tears, I only nodded quickly when I heard the door of the emergency ward open,

It was one of the doctors I saw going in with my mom, I arose to him desperately with my hands clasped in a silent prayer

“ are you Juliana smiths guardian?”

“ Yes, that’s me, doctor. Please what’s wrong with my mom, is she ok? Is she?”

“ For now she is stable, but this is the little we can do to suppress the pain for the tumor, we have to take it-”

“ Excuse me, what did you say?” I asked the older man, it was like I couldn’t hear what just said.

“ The brain tumor, your mother has to be operated on soon, before it grows and if it passes that point, there is nothing we can do”

It was like he was talking gibberish, I could see Amy give me a subtle stare as her mouth was left gaped in shock, I wanted to let out a laugh, my mom? Brain tumor?

“ Excuse are you convinced this is my mom, Julianna smith, you’re talking about?” I whispered out desperately, the doctor looked at me with a mix of pity and confusion,

“Had there been any cases of complaining about irregular, painful headaches and becoming exhausted? That is always an early symptom”,

My mom always covered everything up with a smile, she hardly asked for things, the missed calls on my phone haunted me, she must have needed me so desperately

“ I’m sorry, miss smith, but your mother has a brain tumor, and to start the surgery, we need the sum of three hundred thousand dollars to start surgery, and we need it very soon or else your mother’s life will be at big risk,” the doctor continued“ and if you’ll excuse me” he called before he left

No, no, no.

Even though I felt a warm hand that belonged to Amy, rest on my back to calm my hyperventilating body, I felt numb, and my stomach churned, I was going to be sick.

Just in spam of a few hours I heard the worst news in my life, my knees gave out before Amy held me back up, another fresh set of tears slipped down

“ Amy, this is not happening, tell me this Is a dream.”

“Emma it’s ok, it's going to be ok,” she hushed my hysterical cries,

But I knew it wasn’t, no matter how I tried to tell myself it wasn’t, no matter how I attempted to believe her, my mother had a brain tumor, and I have to find three hundred thousand dollars for the surgery, or I’m going to lose my mom.

Where am I going to find that kind of money?