Chapter 19

Day of the surgery...

Scarlett was in the hospital, in one of the rooms as the doctors and nurses were getting the necessary preparations done. Her family members sat around her and gave her the courage that she needed. Her friends were also there to support her. They were clearly happy, yet, terrified that she was going to go through the surgery. Zander was nowhere to be seen. She secretively wished for his presence.

Her brain was battling whether to love him or hate him. But her heart made it clear that it was love that she had for him. She couldn't even think about hating him, but she was going to be a stranger to him or rather the other way round after the surgery? would he approach her again? Her heart squeezed as her thoughts wandered in unwanted and dangerous waters.

She knew that Eduardo was her surgeon, she was happy that Zander still cared for her somewhere in his heart even though he said all that to her. Ed told her that Zander had entrusted him with her life. She smile when he said that and Ed was happy that she could feel happy with at least the thought that Zander cared before forgetting him. Eduardo knew that their love was mutual and it killed him that they couldn't stay that way.

Scarlett looked around and her gaze drifted to the door with a small hope when somebody entered that it was going to be Zander. But she was disappointed nonetheless.

The past few days had been painful. Her feeling had numbed and she didn't find the need to cry and sulk over things. Especially when it came to Zander, she loved him and her feelings were as strong as ever. But when she heard his name, she couldn't cry. It was hard to get a reaction out of her after the day Zander told her that he regretted meeting her. She knew that it wasn't mandatory for him to return her feelings, but he could have been a little gentle about rubbing it onto her.

Heart-break. She knew exactly how it felt now. Everyone inside the room was talking in hushed tones and she was glad that they weren't asking her anything. Although she knew that they knew something she didn't she let it slip. After all, she was going to forget it in a matter of a few hours, so why the unnecessary curiosity?

The Whispers broke down into a comfortable and nervous pause when a nurse entered the room. " Scarlett Gracie Brown, are you ready to start the procedure?" She asked and Scarlett nodded mindlessly.

That was it, her mind was asking her to back out, yelling at her that this was her last chance to stop the surgery, but she stood against her mind. They were taking her to the operation theatre and her mind skimmed over the happy times she spent with her family and friends. She remembered the times she doubled over with laughter when Zander cracked a lame joke, the way he had managed to keep her sane throughout the entire process of discovering herself.

She was met with a team of doctors and nurses inside the theatre and a shiver ran through her spine as she imagined them cutting her head open. " Will you shave my hair off?" She asked Ed as her hand touched her dark brown locks. Ed smiled at her. " No. We are going to use surgical clips to hold your hair intact. We don't remove anyone's hair because it may be a reason for an infection to spread." He said and she nodded without any emotions in her face.

" We'll be injecting you with some sedatives and you won't even know when the surgery started and when it ended. Since your tumour is still smaller than others, it's easy to remove. Don't worry, relax." He gave her shoulder a small squeeze and she relaxed just a little.

She was looking at the ceiling which was the only thing in her line of vision since she was lying down. She felt a small sting before she felt her eyelids becoming heavy. " I love you, Zander." She said before she slipped into a deep slumber.

Ed knew that they still had close to 15 minutes before starting the procedure, so he let someone inside. The person stood beside Scarlett and shook as he cried. Zander was shattered, he could barely hold himself together. The doctors and nurses were looking at her MRI and discussing something. He took her limp hand and laid a gentle kiss on her knuckles. " I love you, Letta. I always will. I promise to fight, to get you back. Please... Don't forget love... Don't forget me..." He said and left without another word. A loud sob would have erupted from his lips if he hadn't clamped them shut.

Ed had tears in his eyes as he saw what was happening in front of him. Only if he could do something about it, but unfortunately it wasn't in his hands. When the surgery began, all Ed prayed for was that she shouldn't turn out to be aggressive and let Zander in, one last time. Everyone got a second chance, he hoped they will too.

************After the surgery**********

Zander decided to go back to his place and avoid the painful situation of Scarlett asking him who the hell he was. He wished that he could hold her for one last time. He wanted to take back his words, but he also knew that these thoughts weren't going to gain her back. He was going to have to start all over again, from the beginning. He was going to make her fall in love with him again.

Scarlett's parents were waiting for her consciousness to return. Marie was outside having a minor panic attack, she didn't want to get abused by her sister who happened to be a slave for drugs. She had learned to love Scarlett in the last 5 months and she wanted that to continue. Trevor was seated next to his little sister, promising her that nothing that she feared will happen. It tempted Marie to believe her brother, but she knew better.

Scarlett felt a weird taste on her taste bud. She knew that it was her bile. Her eyes and head hurt as if they were venturing out of her body. She forced her eyes open and shut it immediately. Her room wasn't white, where was she? Her eyes stung initially but adjusted to the brightness.

Her senses indicated that she was in a hospital room. What happened to her? She clutched her head as a searing pain shot through her nerves. The door opened and a Doctor who looked a few years older than herself entered the room with a nurse who was probably in her late thirties.

" How are you feeling, Scarlett? I am Dr.Eduardo Rodriguez, your surgeon, and chief doctor." He said with a sweet smile. She smiled back at him though she wasn't the one who would smile at a stranger. " I'm fine. What happened to me? What surgery are you talking about? She asked and examined her body and found no casts. Then she recalled feeling a cloth on her head when she clutched onto it. " I had a surgery in my head? A brain surgery?" She asked with surprise written on her face.

" Yes. I think it's your families role to explain it to you." He said and made a few observations before leaving the room. Family, weren't they the ones who decided to vanish into thin air? Then she remembered her Aunt Eva and Uncle Dan who took care of her like their own. She called them mom and dad, but never meant it wholeheartedly. Now she realized how stupid she was to give into her sorrow and ignore those amazing people.

Her 'parents' entered the room with a worried expression. She could see that her Aunt... mom was crying, her eyes were red and puffy which gave her away. She knew that it was finally time that she accepted them as her family over the ones she was feeling terrible about.

" Mom... Dad... What happened to me? Why did I get a brain surgery done?" She asked and her parents were shocked that she was calm and was behaving like the same girl that she was for the past 5 months. " We'll tell you, honey. Please relax." Her mother said and touched her cheeks with so much of love that it made her tear up. " I'm so sorry mom, I'm so sorry dad. I've been a bad daughter to both of you. I-" Just then the door opened and Trevor walked in with Marie clinging on to him like he was her lifeline.

Scarlett's heart broke into a million pieces when she noticed Marie like that. She was the reason that her sister was behaving like this. " Marie..." She trailed off and Marie's eyes widened with horror. " I'm so sorry, baby. I've been the worst to you! I wish I could take everything I did to you back. The drugs were blinding me and I just... I know that I'm asking for too much but... Will you ever forgive me? I promise to make it up to you. I promise to treat you like you deserve, sweet cake." That was the breaking point for Marie. She left Trevor where he stood and ran towards her sister.

A hug from her sister let Scarlett know that she was forgiven for good. They both hugged each other and Trevor stood there awkwardly making patterns with his feet. " Are you going to stand there all day, Trev? Aren't you going to hug your favourite cou- sister?" Scarlett corrected herself which made his face brighter than ever.

The sibling had an amazing bonding, group hug which made them forget each other and accept each other.

Eva and Dan were enthralled that Scarlett was being her usual self again. They knew that she had questions and they had the answers. They wanted to enjoy this moment before telling her everything, everything except the love of her life.

" I would like to go to a rehab. Please put me in one... I don't want to be in the shackles of drugs anymore. I want to live a life free of any shackles." Scarlett's statement made her family happy. They were more than happy that she was willing to move on with her life.

Scarlett looked at everyone in the room and had a feeling that someone was missing. She closed her eyes trying to sketch who the person was in her mind. She wasn't able to do it, but a sudden hazy and blurred image popped into her mind. It disappeared as soon as it appeared and she frowned.