CHAPTER TWO

“Lauren,” Shirley squeaked, both of them scrambling to cover themselves with the white sheets. “I can explain, it’s really not—”

“I don’t know if I really want to listen to you explain why you’re in bed with my boyfriend, Shirley.” I shook my head, turning to Conrad with tear-filled eyes. “How could you do this to me?”

He only sighed and looked away in response, leaving me unsure of knowing if he was remorseful.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen, Lauren, please.” Shirley attempted to stand up, but Conrad pulled the sheets back so he wouldn’t be naked. Shirley resorted to putting on her shirt and shorts.

“Why…?” I questioned nobody in particular.

This whole thing had just been thrown in my face and, as much as I needed answers, I didn’t want to hear much from them.

“How long?” I said. “How long has this been going on?”

“Three months,” Conrad was the one to reply now, his eyes fixated on me without an inkling of guilt.

“Oh, God,” I collapsed against the door, squirming as Shirley tried to touch me.

“I couldn’t help it, Lauren, and you know that,” Conrad started.

“Know what, Conrad? That you cheated—”

“That this relationship was not heading in a good direction!” he argued.

“What?” I frowned, almost laughing and crying at how comical and sad it was to be hearing this from him.

“It’s all been a transaction to you, hasn’t it; a way for you to pay for your father’s treatment or to get your mother’s drugs without giving back anything in return?”

I shook my head, having heard enough. I grabbed the knob of the door and got ready to make my way out.

“I have never thought of our relationship as a transaction. You know how much I’ve always wanted to repay you? How horrible I feel for asking you for money?”

“Then why are you here? Why did you come all of a sudden?” he challenged.

If I told him the reason for my arrival, he would turn it against me. I glanced at Shirley and gave them my final words, hoping that I wouldn’t see or hear from them ever again.

“Good luck to both of you.”

“Lauren, I’m sorry!” Shirley cried out as she followed me out of the room. “Lauren, just listen to me—”

“Seriously, Shirley?” I turned around with my hands raised in exasperation. “Did it really have to be Conrad? Why?”

“I don’t know how it happened. He saw me, Lauren. He made me feel—”

“No. I am not hearing how my ex-boyfriend made you feel.” I stopped her.

“It’s not my fault that I fell in love with him. If I’d been given a choice, I would have picked anyone but him and you know that!”

“Do I really?” I scoffed. “You know, I would have understood more if you had told me when you had feelings for him instead of jumping right into bed with him three months ago.”

I turned around and walked away, feeling as foolish as they made sure to make me feel.

The rock that had been lodged in my throat finally crumbled as I got outside the gates and fell to my knees, wailing like a child who had lost her mother and didn’t understand why.

My father had lung cancer. My mother was an addict. My boyfriend was cheating on me with my best friend. At just twenty-two, I had been dealt a horrendous luck.

When I was done crying, I wiped my tears and stood up, deciding to go to the hospital and speak to the doctor. Perhaps, I could get more time if I turned in my salary for the day.

The moment I stepped on the road, a loud horn blared at me, causing me to freeze as the car came to a quick halt.

The car was only about two centimetres away from crushing my legs. The driver got out of the car, rushing towards me with a panicked look on his face.

“How… Are you hurt?” he inquired.

“No, I’m fine. Sorry, I—”

“My boss wants to see if you’re okay.” He led me to the side of the car, the window in the back winding down almost immediately as a man with dark hair and equally dark eyes scanned me quietly.

“Injury?” he asked.

“No.” I shook my head.

He hummed, staring hard at me until I looked away.

“You must know Conrad.” He gestured at the house I had come from.

Just the mention of his name was enough to send my heart into overdrive.

“Not very much,” I denied.

“Is he home?”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“You’ve been crying,” he observed, which brought back all of the reasons I had been crying and made me want to cry again.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just…” I shook my head, looking down as the tears started to return.

“Where are you headed?” he questioned.

“Bloomfield Hospital,” I admitted with defeat.

“Do you mind if I ask my driver to take you?” He opened the door and stepped down from the car, revealing how tall and built he was. “You don’t look like you’re in the best condition to go anywhere alone and at this time of the night.”

With hesitation, I got into the car as the driver put Bloomfield into the GPS.

“He can take you home as well if you’d like,” he offered.

“Oh, I’m fine.” I refused. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem.” He waved me off, taking steps towards Conrad’s place as the driver started to take me to the hospital.

I wanted to ask the driver just who this man was to Conrad, but I couldn’t bring myself to start a conversation, especially if the driver was not in the mood for it.

My phone started to ring and I recognized the number as the one from the hospital that had called me before.

“What now?” I muttered to myself as I picked up the phone.

“Miss Lauren Walter, you need to report to the hospital as soon as possible. We failed to get in contact with your mother. Your father is not responding to the treatments anymore…”