Three

Ivy's Pov

Fortunately for the few people who cared about me, I wasn’t hit by a car. I managed to make it home in one piece physically, but my heart and soul were shattered. I stumbled into my living room and burst into tears. As I cried I kept replaying my life, wondering how the girl I’d known since grade school and the guy I’d given my virginity to, could have betrayed me like this. Had the signs always been there that Chole was a jealous bitch, and Joe was a cheating asshole? I began thinking back to the first day I introduced them to each other, and all the times after that. Yep, the red flags were there, but I was too trusting to see them. That blind trust had made me give Joe all my savings. Although it had been Chloe’s idea. She knew I was saving for my grandma treatment and six months ago she’d asked me how much I’d gotten.

“Twenty thousand so far,” I’d told her.

“Wow, nice job. I wish there was a way to make it more.”

“Yeah. Me too.” I sighed.

“Hey, your new boyfriend is a hedge fund manager right? Why not give it to him to invest for you? With the right investment, you could double, or triple it by in six months.” She suggested.

I hesitated.

“Sounds good, but I’m not sure. What if I lose the investment?”

“Tell him how important the money is to you. I’m sure if he knows it’s a matter of life and death he’ll be careful when investing for you.”

I thanked her for the good idea and hugged her. That afternoon I told Joe about it.

“I’m sorry your grandmother has such a serious health issue,” he said sympathetically. “Don’t worry babe, I’ll make sure your investment will yield enough to cover all the medical expenses. To make it even better, I suggest you add money every week to the investment, that way you will gain massively.”

Stupid me had believed him, so every week I gave him the five hundred dollars I’d saved from my tips. Believing I was growing my investment. Thinking about how I had starved, deprived myself of some necessities to save that money not knowing the bastard was using it to take care of his girlfriend made me cry harder. The designer bags, shoes, little jewelry, and small trips out of state, that Chloe was always telling me was paid for by her fiancé, and I would stupidly be happy for her, it was all done using my hard earned money. The thought hurt me like a knife to my chest. I must have cried for hours before I heard a soft knock on my door.

“Ivy, what’s going on in there? Please open up.”

It was Tess, my neighbor and good friend. We were close, even though she was much older. I often stopped by her apartment when I came home from work to eat snacks and watch movies.

“Nothing Tess. I’m fine.” I croaked.

“No you are not. Now open up or I will call the cops.”

I knew she would. Sighing, I staggered to the door and opened it.

“My goodness you look awful! What happened? Did something happen to your grandmother.” She asked anxiously.

I shook my head and led her inside. We sat on my worn sofa.

“I dozed off waiting for you to show up and watch Barbarian with me,” she said. “when I woke up I heard you sobbing. What is the matter?”

Tearfully I told her what had happened that evening.

“I’m so sorry dear,” she said gently. “The thing about treachery is, it's done by the people closest to you, that’s why it’s so painful.”

I heard the hurt in her voice and remembered she’d told me how her ex husband had betrayed her with her cousin.

“Stop crying dear.” Tess continued, “the disloyal bitch and bastard deserve each other. Such a relationship is built on quicksand and they’ll both sink in it. Trust me, you will have the last laugh.”

“That’s not the only thing upsetting me,” I said sadly, reluctantly I told her about the money.

“You gave the asshole your grandmother treatment money?” She asked horrified.

“I wanted him to invest it. Now he won’t give it back. I’ll go to the cops first thing in the morning. I must get that money.”

“Calm down sweetheart.” She said gently. “You said it was an investment? Did you sign any paperwork? Is there any evidence.”

“No.”

“No records at all.”

I shook my head, feeling dumb. She sighed.

“That money is gone Ivy. You have to forget about it.”

“No. I can’t . My grandma needs the money.”

“You can't get it. Without evidence cops can’t do anything. The bastard Joe can sue you for harassment if you bother him. You made a mistake giving him the money without signing anything.”

I felt crushed.

“What should I do?” I whispered.

“We’ll think of something. Right now I want you to forget those traitors and get some sleep. Can you do that?”

I nodded. She hugged me and left. I lay on the sofa, too depressed to change and get into bed. All my anger shifted from Joe and Chloe to myself. How could I have been so stupid? After hours of thinking, I decided it wasn’t totally hopeless. A doner hadn’t been found yet, so the money wasn’t needed immediately. I had time. With more hard work I could save enough before it was.

I never knew the fates were laughing at me. The next morning my phone woke me up.

“Miss Carter? This is Dr. Silver. We have a compatible donor.”

My eyes filled with tears.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

For the first time in twelve hours, I smiled, grandma was going to live. Then Dr. Silver spoke again.

“We’ll need the deposit immediately.”

My smile disappeared and the blood drained from my face.