Chapter 2: Cocky, Handsome Man

Eloise quickly snapped out of her thoughts as she looked into the handsome man’s cocky eyes.

“If you wanted to have a silent stay here, you should have opted for a private room. And we were talking quietly before you interrupted our conversation.”

Vaughn scoffed. Of course, he could stay in a private room. He can even buy this hospital if he wants to.

“It doesn’t take away the fact that the two of you have disturbed my rest,” he said.

Eloise was about to respond when Cameron held onto her hand.

“We’re sorry, sir,” he said. “We’ll try to talk more quietly from now on.”

“That’d be appreciated,” Vaughn said in a sarcastic tone.

Eloise glared at his brother. “Don’t apologize to him. He’s the one being a sensitive asshole.”

Vaughn raised his eyebrows in surprise. That’s certainly a first. No one has ever called him an asshole on the very first day that they’ve met him.

“Sis,” he said. “Just let it go, alright? My doctor is on his way here.”

She sighed and nodded her head, finally letting it go. However, Vaughn didn’t miss the glare she threw over his way before she shut their curtains close.

He shook his head in disbelief as he stood up from his bed. Even now, he could still hear the conversation coming from the next bed.

“Doctor Sheldon,” Eloise said as the old doctor came in.

“Eloise and Cameron,” he smiled and patted the young man’s back. “I heard you passed out, huh?”

Cameron pursed his lips together and nodded his head. “Still feeling better than ever, though.”

“I’m glad,” Doctor Sheldon smiled. “Where is your mother?”

“She went home,” Cameron answered. “Eloise is here with me today.”

“I see,” he said. “Will it be alright if only your sister accompanies you today?”

“It’s alright,” Eloise said. “I’m also his guardian.”

Doctor Sheldon nodded his head and brought out some papers. “So, your test results have just came in.”

Eloise held her breath and observed the doctor’s face. It was concerning how he frowned as he looked at the papers.

“And it seems like your blood work has been getting worse,” he said.

Eloise didn’t know what to say. Deep down, she knew that he was getting worse, and it made her feel miserable how she couldn’t afford his treatment.

“His platelets are down while his white blood cells are up. With this kind of result, I would suggest that he get chemotherapy as soon as possible.”

Eloise nodded her head in understanding. “How much would that cost?”

“Around 6,000 dollars per session. Now, we don’t know how many cycles he needs yet, but I would prepare around 50,000 dollars for the complete treatment.”

Cameron looked at his sister with concern and asked, “Do I have to start right away?”

“As soon as possible, Cameron,” Doctor Sheldon said. “The faster you have your treatment, the higher chances you have of getting better.”

She bit her lip as she started to wonder how she could get that amount of money in such a short amount of time. However, she nodded her head.

“That is noted, doctor,” she said. “I’ll try to have him start by next week.”

“What?” Cameron asked in shock, knowing full well that their family does not have that kind of money.

Eloise held onto her brother’s hand. “Thank you, doctor.”

Doctor Sheldon nodded his head. “I’ll be seeing you next week, then, Cameron. We’ll remove your IV then the two of you can go home after settling the bill.”

As soon as the doctor and the nurse went out, Cameron turned to his sister, confused.

“Next week?” he exclaimed. “Where are you going to get that amount of money in a week?”

“I have 6,000 dollars saved up for your first treatment,” Eloise said. “I don’t know when I’m going to get the rest of the money, but we’ll cross the bridge when we get there.”

“No,” Cameron said, shaking his head. “That was supposed to go to your tuition for acting school. Don’t spend it on me.”

Eloise sighed. “And I won’t be going to acting school anytime soon. I don’t even want to be an actress anymore,” she lied. It has always been her dream. But being the sole breadwinner of their family, she knew she couldn’t spend her time trying to look for acting gigs without making any money.

“Liar,” Cameron said, standing up from the bed. “That has always been your dream.”

“Where are you going?” Eloise called out.

“Out,” Cameron said without turning back.

Eloise closed her eyes and wanted to cry. However, she knew that her brother was just upset about his situation.

Vaughn stayed silent all throughout their conversation. He heard what the doctor had said, and he honestly didn’t know what to feel.

Just then, a nurse entered his room.

“You’re all cleared now, sir. Fortunately, you only bumped into a tree and incurred minor injuries on your leg,” she said. “Just head to the billing counter and you can get going.”

“Right,” he said in relief. “Thanks.”

He headed over to the counter where he saw the pretty girl once more.

The two of them made eye contact as Eloise paid for their bill.

“You again,” Eloise said.

“Scoot over, miss,” Vaughn nonchalantly said. “I’m also here to pay for my bill.”

“Whatever,” Eloise said, rolling her eyes as she took out her phone to call for Cameron.

Vaughn smiled at the lady at the counter, causing her to blush in return.

“Vaughn Ryder,” he said.

“Wait a second, sir,” the lady shyly said. “Here you go,” she handed him his hospital bill.

400 dollars.

Surprisingly cheaper than he had expected.

He reached out for his wallet but stopped when he didn’t feel the familiar object in his pocket.

Just then, the scene where he tossed his wallet to Xavi at the bar played in the back of his mind.

“Shit,” he cursed under his breath.

“What’s the matter, sir?” the lady asked.

He pursed his lips together. “I don’t have any cash with me.”

“Well, do you have a card, sir?”

He sighed in frustration since he also left his card with Xavi.

“Can you wait a second?” he said. “I’m just going to make a call.”

He took out his phone from his pocket and turned it on. Luck definitely wasn’t on his side when he saw that its battery had run out.

“Great,” he said, massaging the bridge of his nose.

Just then, he made eye contact with Eloise, causing him to straighten his posture.

“What are you looking at?” she suspiciously asked.

He looked at the phone in her hand and walked closer to where she was.

“What are you doing?” she said in defense.

“Let me borrow your phone,” he shamelessly said.

Eloise looked at him with disbelief. “Are you insane? I don’t even know you.”

“Vaughn,” he quickly introduced himself. “What about you?”

“I’m not going to tell you that,” she said.

“Eloise,” he said. “There—we already know each other.”

Eloise looked at him with a suspicious gaze. “How do you know my name?”

He sighed. “I heard it from the doctor.”

“Don’t tell me—you heard everything we were talking about?”

“We were separated by a thin piece of curtain. What do you think?” he snapped. “Just let me borrow your phone.”

“And what makes you think I’ll give you my phone after acting like this?” she asked.

He closed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “Look. I don’t have any money with me. My phone is also dead, and I don’t have a way to contact my friends. Can you let me borrow your phone for a second so I could make a call?”

Eloise looked at his ragged appearance and felt kind of bad. Was he also struggling like her?

She hates how she’s always like this. She’s probably struggling more than him, but she can’t help but pity this handsome man.

“Fine,” she grumbled, handing over her worn-out phone to the handsome man. “But make it quick,” she urged.

Vaughn smirked as he typed Xavi’s number in her phone. Luckily, he had his number memorized for times like this.

“How can I make it quick when your phone looks like it could be from the 1980’s?” he muttered under his breath.

Eloise scoffed in disbelief. “Do you want me to take it back or something?” she asked, walking closer to him to try and snatch her phone back.

However, Vaughn raised it above his head, causing the two of them to come closer than expected.

Eloise felt her breath get caught in the back of her throat.

Okay, this man is really handsome. It just sucks that he’s an asshole.

“I’m almost done,” he said, breaking away. However, Eloise still felt breathless from their close proximity.

Vaughn made a quick phone call to his friends, and luckily, they picked up right away.

“Just come to the hospital,” he sighed through the phone. “And bring my wallet with you.”

“There,” he said, turning off the call.

Eloise frowned. “Aren’t you going to say thanks?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Just think of it as payment for being loud in the ward a while ago. Now, we’re even.”

“What?” she snapped.

“See you, Eloise,” he said, waving his hand in a teasing manner.

Eloise closed her eyes as she watched him walk away.

“Asshole!”