Chapter 012.

Lily

I arrived at the hospital's door, my heart was drumming in my ears, my hands were shaky, was it because I was anxious to see my mother again? I wasn't really sure.

I ran to the elevator and pressed on the third floor button with impatience. When the door opened I took to my heels to her room. “Mum,” I shouted, when I arrived at the ward door, tears had filled my eyes and I couldn't help but burst out crying. It had been so long since I had seen my mother lively, I had missed her dearly and all I wanted to do was go and look deep into her green eyes and tell her about how I had suffered when she was away, how cruel life had been without her, I wanted to cry in her chest. I wanted to hold her warm hands and make her promise me that she won't ever leave me again. I wanted to tell her that we will run away together and go start our life afresh with his grand child, away from my blind father and his wife, away from Nolan, away from Vivian. I darted my eyes to the room, but it was awfully quiet, something was definitely wrong. I was expecting to hear the doctor's voice, but what met me was a deafening silence.

I was in a daze for a second when a hand touched my shoulder softly in assurance. “We tried all that we could but we were a second too late.” Those words hit me like a hammer to the head. My hands dropped on my sides. I turned my eyes and looked at the owner of the voice, he was on a white apron, my eyes were blurry and that's the only thing I could see, everything around me felt suffocating, the air around me pressed against me, time had stopped suddenly. I let out a piercing cry, I cried loud enough to awaken the dead, but sadly, my mother wasn't going to do me the honors.

I rushed into the room, on my mother's bed was a body covered with a white sheet upto the head, I had to make sure of what I was seeing, I rushed and pulled the sheet from her head, my heart dropped to my legs, she laid their, her face grey, it didn't wear any calmness, she looked like a person who had gone through a lot of pain before her death. My hand slapped my mouth, it really was her, I was too late.

“Why couldn't you have waited for me,” I said in between sobs, “I had come to give you a hug mum, why did you have to leave me all alone in this cruel world,” I wailed. “Why mum….why,”

“Miss, please allow us to take the body,” a nurse said in a low voice, “please,” she begged. I didn't want to leave her side, I wanted to stay with her, but that wasn't for me to decide.

“It is necessary that you make the necessary arrangements,” the doctor told me. I could hear his voice but it wasn't really clear. It felt like he was talking in my dream, and his tongue was heavy, but I could comprehend all that he was saying. My eyes were burning as I nodded my head.

“Again, sorry for your loss,” he said as he and the nurse walked away. Sorry for your loss, I always knew that I'd hear these words some day but I never expected it to come this soon. I sat on the floor as tears welled their way down my cheeks, burning my skin, my heart felt heavy in my chest. My face was buried in my hands when I heard stilettos footsteps, clicking my way.

“Oh look, what do we have here, a puppy left by its bitch mum,” the voice came out mockingly. “At least that bitch is dead, I don't have to spend any of my money paying bills, if you ask me, she should have died sooner, I don't even know why she took this long.”

I had had enough, the audacity of this woman coming here and talking shit about my mother. Her body wasn't even cold yet and yet she was here cursing shamelessly. I stood up from the floor, my blood boiling, I raised my hand and connected my palm with her cheeks, the slap was so loud that it felt satisfying in time of grief.

“You bitch how dare you, I'll make you join that wretched woman,” she said as she raised her hand to slap me but I held it mid air, just then my dad walked in, and as the damsel in distress that she was, she ran to him, covering her red cheek as she cried, “honey look, she slapped me.”

My father looked at me impatiently and then, without any word, I felt my cheek burn, I touched my cheek with my palm, trying to ease the pain, “you slapped me for this home wrecker,” I don't even know why I was shocked, it's not like this was the first time, him doing this.

“Mum just died, and the only thing you do is come here and cause chaos, do you even know what she did to make me slap her…”

“That is enough Lily, so what if that woman is dead, she was going to die anyway, that saves me from a lot,” his words burned into my ears.

I shook my head as I looked at their pathetic faces, “did you ever love her? She was your wife, she made you what you are…” he cut me off with another slap, “you do not talk to me like that, remember I am your father, another word from you and I'll take away your rights of burying that bitch.”

He threatened me with my mother's body, that was so low, but what would I expect from someone as blind as him.

“You're going to regret this,” I warned him as I walked out of the room, just as I was about to walk out the door, my head hit something.