seduction 4

A taxi drops me off at the hospital gate and I sprint inside. I make it to my mother's hospital room in time to see the director instruct his accompanying staff to proceed with detaching the life support equipments connected to my mother.

" Stop!" I yell, pushing the door open with widened eyes. The commotion momentarily halts the nurses as everyone inside the room turns to look at me. I am a panting mess. I bend down, taking deep breathes to stabilize my breathing.

" Kara, you are finally here. I was afraid you wouldn't make it in time." Carlos says, heaving a sigh of relief. He is the one who called earlier and informed me of the director's decision of disconnecting my mother's life support.

I send him a grateful smile before turning to face the director who doesn't seem pleased with my interruption.

" Miss Smith, I hope you have a good reason for causing a scene here." He confronts me, his face covered with displeasure.

" You can't pull off my mother from the system." I answer him.

" Your mother has been unconscious for more than six months. She is in a vegetative state and there is no way of knowing if she'll wake up anytime soon. You cannot afford her hospital bills and the hospital can't operate on credit. I hope you can understand." He explains to me in a calm voice.

" But...but." I stammer, unable to find a counter-argument.

" Look, Miss Smith. I am aware of your financial situation. The bills are already piling and you don't have a way to settle them. It's in your best interest to let her go. " The director explains. Let her go? So I should watch as my mother's life slips away?

" I'll pay." I declare with conviction, shocking the director and Carlos who gives me a worried glance.

" Don't be unreasonable... "

" I'll pay the money. Just give me two days to get it." I interrupt, sending the director a pleading look. Two days? I don't know where the hell I'll get that amount of money but I know I won't allow them to unplug my mother. She is all I have left.

The director lets out a deep sigh, he shakes his head. " I'll give you till tonight. If you have the money, I'll let her continue her stay. But if not, the nurses will proceed to disconnect her." He declares, giving me a hard long stare.

I nod, sending the director a thankful glance. " Remember Miss Smith, you have until tonight to get the money ready." He insists before walking out, followed by the attending nurses.

I slump on the chair,mg head dropping and releasing the breath I didn't know I was holding. Tonight. That's all I have until to save my mother's life. I feel my tears threaten to spill but I hold them back. No, I can't cry. Not now. Crying won't solve shit and definitely won't save my mother's life.

A warm hand drops on my shoulders.i don't need to look to know that it's Carlos. I meet his gaze,giving him a weak smile. He returns it, patting me lightly.

" I have some savings. I know it's nothing much but... " Carlos starts but I don't let him finish.

With a shake of my head, " That's your money Carlos, keep it. I'll figure out a way. " I tell him.

" Kara, you know I don't mind helping you wherever I can. That's a lot of money, where are you going to get it by tonight? " Carlos expresses his concern. Deep down, he might think I am just stubborn for refusing the option offered to me by the hospital. He doesn't know that if I lose my mother, the last string of my sanity will snap.

" I can't watch her die. I can't lose her. "

Carlos remains quiet. What is there to say anyway? He is only trying to help.

" It'll be okay. Everything will work out." I repeat, more to myself than him.

" You should get back to work. I can't have you losing your job because of me." I tell him. Truth is, I just want to be left alone with my mother. As if understanding my thoughts, Carlos nods before leaving, closing the door behind him.

My eyes finally settle on my mother and the tears I was fighting so hard to restrain come streaming down my cheeks.

" Mom." I whimper, reaching out for her cold hands. Her eyes are closed, her skin pale and her whole body seems lifeless. If not for the beeping sound of the machines, I would have thought she was dead.

" Don't leave me alone,okay?" I sob, squeezing her hand.

The sound of the door creaking open has me quickly wiping my tears before I turn around to face Carlos.

“ Did you forget something… ? My question dies in my mouth when I recognized the two men standing before me. My expression moves from shock to anger real quick.

“ What the hell are you doing here?” I snap, annoyed.

“ Why didn't you tell me about your mother?” Lance asks, his expression pained. I fight the urge to roll my eyes at his question. Why would I tell him about her? She is my mother, not his.

Besides, he walked away five years ago and not once did he contact us to know how we were doing. I understand that our last encounter was sour but that's not a reason enough to cut us off from his life.

“Don't act as if you care about her, about us, Lance. You proved that when you walked away five years ago without even a goodbye.” I sneer at him. A pained expression flashes in his eyes but I ignore it.

“ Wait…You know each other from before?” Cliff asks, looking confused. Lance sends him a glare and he raises his hands in surrender. Probably ashamed of the accusations he poured at us earlier.

“ I walked away for a good reason.” Lance replied, his words fanning the fire burning in my heart.

“ Oh yeah? What good reason? Because you did not want to get involved with a naive and ignorant brat like me?” I snap. Every time I think about the hurtful words Lance said to me on that fateful day, I hate him even more.

“ No Kara. I walked away because I could not bear to drag you into my dark world. I didn't want to destroy your Innocence.”