"No… no…no! Selene No!" My mom shouted as she paced the small space of the living room. I had finally told her about what Damien's father had said to me about getting married to Damien. "What did you do?!" She placed her hands on her head. "Why do you think I never want to bring you in to help even when I need it? What have you done?!"
I didn't know how to calm her down… I haven't even gotten over it myself. And to think that he had to break up with Eden to be with me. How was I supposed to look her in the eye and tell her that I had a one night stand with her boyfriend. Just one mistake in one night and my life was already heading for the rocks.
"I'm sure I would find a way around it," I said in an effort to calm her down.
"I should have kept you hidden," my mother said and began pacing. "I should have kept you hidden."
"What do you mean?" I asked and made her stop in her tracks.
She looked me in the eye like she was finally seeing me after a very long time. I could see her kind eyes were now replaced by fear. And it was beginning to feel like she knew more about Don, Damien's father than she was letting on.
"What do you mean?" I asked again.
"You need to leave town immediately," My mother said. Leave town? Where was all that even coming from? First she talked about how she should have hidden me and now she was talking about how I should leave town like my life was in some form of danger. I had seen my mother scared before, I had seen how she had reacted to it, but the look that I had seen in her eyes was nothing compared to the look I was currently seeing in her eyes. It made me question everything I knew about Damien's dad.
"I'm not leaving town," I told her and began walking off when she grabbed my wrist tightly.
"You are leaving town Selene and there is no room for argument. You can't marry Damien. His father is… his father will… you just can't marry him." She stated. "Pack your bags."
"I have a lot of things going on here, I can't just leave town because some random person told me to marry his son," I replied. "I have a life here. It's not like I can't say no."
"What were you even thinking? How did you even get into the mansion?" She asked.
I had explained everything to her except how I had gotten drunk and how I had slept with Damien, she would have freaked out more.
"I'm not leaving town!" I said, dragging her attention back.
"You are leaving! Do you want to get yourself killed? Don't you know I have no one else?! " She said, raising her voice now as she grew more agitated. Then continued shouting about how she loved me and how if anything happened she was going to lose herself. I kept telling her that nothing was going to happen.
"You're so stubborn,like your father!" She shouted.
"Mom, I…" I started saying but paused when I saw how she raised her hands and clutched her chest suddenly, her eyes widening in pain as she staggered backward.
"Mom?" I rushed forward, panic rising and held her just as her knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor.
Her breathing grew shallow with each second. I just stood there, holding her on the ground, paralyzed by fear. Then her eyes rolled back and that was all I needed to jolt me back to the present.
***
After hours of being at the hospital, the doctor called me to the side in the waiting room and the look on his face was already discouraging. "How is she?" I asked immediately as I got closer.
"We're still running tests on her but she's stable for now," he replied and stared at me with empathy. "She had a heart attack and her left side is paralyzed. But she could die if we don't start treatment immediately so you need to settle the bills first. You have a few hours." He explained and left. Few seconds later, the nurse handed me the bills and I almost had a heart attack of my own. I held onto the walls but I still couldn't hold myself up, then crumpled on a chair. Where was I supposed to get all this money from in a few hours? I was already neck deep in debts, unpaid loans, and I couldn't even call anyone for help - I didn't know anyone that would.
I should have been more careful about the way I had spoken to her. If I had just listened, if I had just left like she had told me to, we wouldn't have been there. I got back on my feet and walked towards the ICU ward where my she was placeed on the bed with several wires connected to her phone. She just laid still with the oxygen mask over her face and her breathing was even more shallow than it was when the ambulance brought her in. Where was I supposed to get the money from? I didn't even have friends that could easly pull up and help get the money I needed for the treatment.
***
I shouldn't have been there but there was nothing else I could do. I hadn't thought about it long enough and but now that I was there, I was beginning to see just how foolish my decision was. I pushed through the staffs and headed towards the living room and demanded that they tell Damien that I had something important to say to him. They tried to stop me but it was useless, there was no way I was leaving just like that. His father was not at home but I knew Damien was inside.
"What the fuck is going on?" I heard Damien's voice behind me and when I saw him, the already planned lines I had prepared to tell him disappeared from my head completely. I forgot why I was even there.
He was sweaty and shirtless, and the whole thing reminded me of the session we had… the way he had held me down with those strong arms as he had pounded orgasm after orgasm out of me. I had been drunk the first time I had seen him but right now, with clear eyes, I could see what a beautiful specimen he was with his broad chest and sculptured torso. His trouser was hanging lowly on his hip and it was driving me crazy.
"What are you doing here?" He asked when he came closer.
His question jolted my brains and I realized why I was there. I opened my mouth to explain my situation when I noticed movements behind him. I turned around and saw Eden coming towards him with a towel around her body. "Selene?"