Pain

~~18 years old~~

Trevor alighted from the old beat-up truck he often drove and sprinted inside the clinic. He halted by the reception desk and puffed out a breath whilst holding his side.

The blonde sitting in the tiny cubicle tilted her slender brows as she stared at him.

"I am Trevor Williamson. My mom is here."

The receptionist, whose name on her badge reads Charity nodded. She fixed the glasses she had slid down her nose to assess the boy who looked to be in his late teenage years back to her face.

"Very well." She mumbled. "Go straight down and take the right corner. You'll see a room with the sign 04."

Trevor nodded and grabbed the card she gave to him before sprinting in the direction she had given to him.

Despite the disapproving glare from the other nurses and patients, he didn't stop. Instead, he only slowed down a bit.

As soon as he got to the door, he nudged it open and walked straight towards the bed.

His heart palpitated as he gazed at his mother's fragile frame. The last time he had seen her was a month ago, and she had been in perfect condition.

She hadn't shown any sign of having a severe illness. It was astonishing when he got a call this morning that she was hospitalised.

Seeing her now broke his heart. She looked like she had been sick for ages, and no one had adequately cared for her.

Trevor recalled her pleading with him before he left that he should stay a bit before returning to school.

He should have listened to her.

At least, he'd have watched over her and noticed any changes in her body.

However, he believed it was too late. He couldn't do anything to save her now, and she was slipping away from him.

"Trevor."

Trevor sidled to the bedside as he heard his name. Even though her voice sounded low, he still heard her.

He sat on the chair and grabbed her wrinkled hands in his.

"Mom." He mumbled, sniffling.

"Don't cry." She said with a small smile. "I am going to be fine."

Trevor shook his head, and tears he had been trying to keep at bay slid down his cheeks. Despite her assurance, he was aware she knew she was dying.

"I need to say something to you. That is why I told the doctor to phone you."

He wiped his eyes with the back of his palm and gazed at her intently. She winced and attempted to sit up, but Trevor halted her.

"I don't think anything is more important than seeing your face." He said. He lifted the pillow and used it to brace her back before going to his chair.

"There is something more important." She mumbled, then added. "I hope you'll forgive me for keeping it away from you."

Trevor's brows creased, but he didn't say a word. Rather, he let her continue.

"The day you came into my life was the happiest day, and I won't ever forget it. I never knew I would see someone as precious as you."

Trevor smiled despite the situation. He imagined when she gave birth to him and how happy she had been.

"I'm surprised you never asked about your father again."

He didn't know who his father was, and he never cared to know because his mother was everything to him. The first time he had asked her about him was the last because she had dismissed the question.

Trevor assumed he was one of the children the father abandoned whilst young and never bothered her anymore.

"I don't need to know the b*st*rd that abandoned me; having you is enough for me." He caressed her hand and smoothened the crease that formed on her wrinkled face.

"Not that," Angelina mumbled. "You weren't abandoned. I am sure if your parents knew how handsome and intelligent you've become, they'd be proud of you."

"I don't understand what you mean by parents. You are my mother, and I have no father. He must have surely left you at some point when he found out you were pregnant with me."

"You were not abandoned," Angelina repeated. "I am not your biological mother, even though I try hard to be. I didn't birth you."

Trevor frowned. He shook his head as he stared at his mother. Then he tossed his head backwards and let out a burst of laughter.

Maybe, she was delusional, he mused. It was his first time hearing such a thing from her, and it sounded even funnier.

"I found you in the sea, Trevor, and when I looked at you for the first time, I felt love, and I couldn't leave you out there. So, I took you and adopted you."

Trevor shook his head, "I don't believe you. I think this is some joke. And you know I hate being teased."

"I wish I was teasing you. But Alas, it is the truth. I had wanted to say this earlier, but I didn't have the chance to due to my deteriorating health, and you weren't always around either."

"Why am I finding it so hard to believe you? You are my mother, and I don't think I was adopted, much less finding me in the sea."

"I am still your mother." Angelina smiled. She shut her eyes and opened them again. "But, you need to know the truth."

For a few seconds, Trevor assessed the woman he had known as his mother. He never imagined she would say this to him until now. It was amusing, but he noticed she was telling the truth.

But then, why had he been at sea? How had he gotten there, and where were his birth parents?

Several questions wandered about in his mind, yet they remained unanswered.

He wasn't furious with her for keeping things from him; he was at his biological parents for tossing him in the sea like he was some debris.

"T..re..vor!"

His eyes snapped to his mother as she stuttered his name. Her hand tightened on his, and she convulsed on the bed.

"What is going on?!" Trevor gripped both her shoulders and shook her gently. But, she continued to convulse.

He darted out of the ward to a nearby office which he assumed was a doctor's.

"My mom... is..."

Before he finished his statement, the doctor walked out of the room briskly because he got paged.

"What happened?"

"I-I don't know!" Trevor shoved his hand into his hair in frustration and moved aside for the doctor to run a check on her.

"Can you excuse us to run more checks on her?"

Trevor nodded and stepped out of the room. He stood by the door side waiting for one of the doctors to come outside.

After another ten minutes, which seemed like an eternity to Trevor, a doctor stepped out of the room.

He hurried to him, "How is my mom?!"

The doctor let out a deep breath. He shook his head slightly, and his eyes bored into Trevor's.

"I'm sorry, we tried our best, but we lost her."

Trevor's head reeled. His heart smacked wildly in his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

His throat constricted, and he puffed out a breath.

"I'm sorry, dear; you need to be strong."

Trevor felt his world crumbling. He tried to grasp something as his vision blurred, but he felt the doctor's hand around him instead.