CHAPTER 4

Chapter 4: Shivering in the Dark

The burning pain on my chest felt like fire.. but I refused to give Victoria the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I bit my lip so hard that I tasted copper. I squeezed my eyes shut for one second to force the tears back down. The entire cafeteria was still laughing. Their phones were pointed at me like shiny weapons.. I did not look at any of them.

I reached down through the cloud of steam. I grabbed the stack of university physics papers with both hands then pulled them tightly against my body as the wet hot fabric of my sweater clung to my skin.. I turned my back on the elite table and walked out.

I did not run. I forced my legs to move in steady steps. I kept walking until the heavy double doors closed behind me, cutting off the sound of their voices.

The school library was empty and freezing cold as I stumbled inside. I walked all the way to the back. hid behind the rows of old books where the shadows were deep and dark. I dropped into a wooden chair as my whole body started to shiver. The hot coffee had quickly turned icy cold. The wet wool of my shirt was sticking to the blistered skin on my chest.

Every breath I took felt like a needle poking into my lungs.. I could not focus on the pain. I couldn't.

I slammed the stack of papers down on the table. My hands were shaking badly that I could barely turn the page.

"Advanced Quantum Dynamics" I whispered as I stared at the math formulas. The complex Dense blocks of university text. My mind felt completely blank with panic. The letters danced in front of my eyes. They looked like a language I had never seen before.

I looked at the clock on my phone screen. 12:15 PM. Less Than four hours until the pharmacy closed and Chloe's medicine would be cancelled.. I had zero dollars in my pocket.

"Think, Maya think," I muttered to myself. I rubbed my forehead with my knuckles. "You are smart. You got the highest score in the district. You can do this. You have to do this."

I forced my eyes back to the line as I picked up a plastic pen. My fingers cramped up instantly from the cold as I started to break down the equation. It felt like trying to climb a glass wall with my bare hands.. Every time my brain wanted to give up. I pictured Chloe’s face. I pictured her hands twisting her blanket. She was gasping for air in our apartment.

Hour after hour. I worked in silence as My fingers grew numb as The temperature in the library seemed to drop lower. The skin on my chest throbbed with an angry ache. The wet coffee stain dried into a sticky crust against my skin. I didn't stop to eat. I didn't stop to use the restroom. I just wrote, solved and analyzed. I filled page after page with perfect formulas.

By the time I solved the last equation. My head was spinning fast as I felt sick to my stomach. I checked my phone. 3:30 PM. Thirty minutes left.

I grabbed the papers, ran out of the library with my heart pounding in my throat as I searched the hallways for Julian. I found him leaning by the student lounge chatting with his friends. I marched up to him gasping for air as I thrust the completed stack into his chest.

"It's done, " I panted. My voice was shaking. "Look at it. It's completely flawless. Give me the money, Julian please. Right now. I have twenty-five minutes."

Julian looked at the papers. Then he looked at my sweater. A slow smirk touched his lips.. He didn't check a single page. He reached into his pocket, pulled out an envelope containing exactly six hundred dollars and dropped it into my hand.

"Go run, ghost " he whispered.

I didn't waste a second. I grabbed the envelope. Sprinted out of the building.

As I walked out. A loud deep rumble of thunder shook the building. A massive autumn storm had rolled in while I was buried in the books. The sky was completely pitch black., fully covered in angry clouds. The rain was coming down in freezing sheets as it blurred the streetlights and flooded the concrete sidewalks.

I did not have an umbrella or a coat.. I looked at the time again. 3:42 PM. Eighteen minutes left.

I pulled my coffee-stained sweater tightly around my chest. I leaped off the stone steps then ran into the freezing downpour as the cold water hit me like a wall then soaked through my clothes in less than three seconds.

The wind was so strong that it kept pushing me backward, throwing the rain directly into my eyes. My vision was completely blurred. I ran down the streets as my old sneakers splashed through deep freezing puddles. My lungs continue to burn with every step.

By the time I burst through the glass doors of the Crestview Clinic Pharmacy. I was completely drenched. gasping for air as I was shaking from head to toe.

The lady behind the counter looked up as her eyes widened in shock at my appearance. "Oh dear. You look completely frozen. Can I help you?"

"Chloe... Chloe Lin " I panted. I leaned heavily against the counter because my legs could no longer support my weight. "I'm here... For the emergency prescription. The hold for order #4092."

The lady turned around as her fingers continued to type quickly on her computer screen. The soft clicking of the keyboard sounded like a countdown timer in my head. She looked at the screen. Then she turned to a shelf, pulled out the green boxes of medicine.

My heart swelled with a wave of relief. I quickly reached into my pocket. I pulled out the six hundred dollars Julian had just handed me. I slammed the envelope onto the counter.

"Okay honey, " the lady said. Her voice dropped into a sympathetic tone. "I see the hold here. It was actually about to go into the system in ten minutes. The total balance due is six hundred and fifty dollars."

My hand froze in mid-air. The world around me seemed to stop spinning.

"What?" I choked out as my voice completely vanished. "No... No, that's wrong. The price is six hundred dollars. It has always been six hundred dollars."

The lady sighed. She pointed a finger at her computer screen. "I'm sorry sweetie. There was an insurance error logged into the system about an hour ago. The company changed the coverage tier for this brand. The price spiked by fifty dollars. See here?"

"No, please, " I begged. My hands flew to the counter as tears finally spilled over my cheeks."Please look again. It has to be an error. My sister needs this to breathe. I only have six hundred dollars. I don't have fifty more. I don't have a penny more!"

"I'm so sorry, " the lady said. She shook her head with a look of pity. "The computer won't let me bypass the system without the amount. If the register doesn't see the fifty dollars by four o'clock. The system automatically cancels the hold. It sends the medicine back to the factory warehouse. I can't stop it."

"Please!" I sobbed. My voice echoed loudly in the pharmacy. I pushed the six hundred dollars across the counter. My raw bleeding knuckles smudged the white paper of the counter. "Take this! Hold it for me! I will find the fifty dollars I swear I will! Just don't let them take the medicine away!"

"I can't do that honey, " she whispered. She looked down at the clock on the wall. 3:58 PM. Two minutes left. "If the payment isn't complete. The system takes it. There is nothing I can do."

I felt completely trapped. A dark heavy wall of despair closed in on me. It suffocated me. I had worked for hours in the dark. I had let them burn my skin. I had solved the math.. I was still failing. I was going to lose my sister over fifty dollars.

"Please " I whispered one time. My knees gave out completely, making me slide down the front of the counter. I buried my face in my hands as a loud broken sob tore out of my throat.

The clock struck 4:00 PM.

The lady behind the counter let out a heavy sigh. I heard the rustle of plastic. She picked up the boxes as she took them away toward the room. It was gone. The hold was cancelled.

I do not even recall walking out of the pharmacy. My mind was blank, my body moving out of habit as I stepped back into the freezing rain and the heavy drops washed away my tears.

The street was deserted, the buildings towering over me like huge monsters. I stood at the edge of the curb, my wet hair hanging in dirty strands across my eyes totally ruined. I had nowhere to go. I had no way to save her.

FLASH!

Two bright lights cut through the dark rain throwing my long shadow on the brick wall behind me.

A loud aggressive engine noise echoed down the street. A sleek black luxury car sped through the water sending a huge wave of mud onto the sidewalk as it pulled up to the curb in front of me. The engine made a menacing sound as it idled in the storm.

I stood frozen, the lights blinding me as I tried to see through the heavy rain.

Slowly with a sound the dark-tinted passenger window rolled down as the freezing rain hit the leather interior but the person inside did not seem to care.

As the glass disappeared into the door the dashboard lights showed the driver's face.

Julian Vance was behind the wheel, his hands holding the leather steering wheel. He did not look wet, cold or angry. He just leaned his head back against the seat, his black eyes locked onto my shivering form through the window as a slow scary smile spread across his face.