CHAPTER 3

”Greeks hospital,” she said in a shaky voice as she hopped into the first cab she found. Sarah rushed into the large hospital building. Fear gripped her as she searched desperately for answers. She only left her sister with her dad last night so she could raise the money for their debt, and now this? What happens if she cannot pay the bills? Diverse negative thoughts flooded her mind as she hurriedly walked into the waiting room.

“Where is Olivia? I am looking for Olivia.” She spoke with a voice full of anxiety. Since she lost her mom, she has never been this scared until this day. The fear of losing a loved one again is something she cannot deal with. She raced to the direction the nurse pointed, up the stairs she went, her heart pounding in her chest.

However, as she approached the corridor leading to the numerous patient wards upstairs, her eyes caught a familiar figure. She squinted her eyes and prayed it wasn't what she thought in her heart. Anger was jolting through her; she couldn’t wait to vent all her venom on him.

“What are you doing here, Mister?” she asked with anger slitting through her words.

“Call me Bobby; I thought I made that clear.” His tone was calm.

“I don’t care what your name is; leave us the hell alone,” she spat the words at him, shivering yet trying so hard to get a grip on herself.

“Hey, tigress, relax.”

“I want you to leave this minute,” she barked at him. He took a few steps towards her, obstructing her from reaching through the door.

“I’m here to help.”

Sarah’s voice was quivering as she spoke. “I have your money, okay, and I will pay it all once I see that my sister is fine.”

“I bet you have to pay double,” he informed her with a wicked grin. This even made the bile in Sarah’s throat grow stiff. - “I would take a chill pill if I were you.” Bobby’s tone was cold and adamant. Sarah’s irritation worsened as she stared blankly at the devil in front of her.

“Get out of here before I do something really crazy,” Sarah threatened. Bobby didn’t budge, and before she could trace her steps into the room where Olivia is kept, Bobby interrupted her again, this time lifting her chin with his hands.

“Olivia needs surgery as soon as possible, and I am the only one who can help with the bills." Sarah hit his hand off her chin, her bitterness momentarily quelled by his words. Her gaze met his, and she couldn’t help but demand, "What exactly do you want from us?”

“I ran her over,” he stated, point blank. Sarah’s heart swelled with fury. With a heavy rush of emotions and burning anger in her eyes, she charged towards him, her feeble hands ready to strike, but Bobby was smart enough to catch them. He knew her kind, and he knew exactly how to tame them. He gripped her hand before she could reach him.

“I didn’t mean to do it.” Bobby said

‘But you did it anyway." Sarah said as she burst out in tears. She struggled with his grip, and when she managed to get off him, she rushed into the room where Olivia was lying unconscious on the bed, her entire body covered in her own blood.

“Damn bastard”. She cried, pointing a finger at Bobby, who enjoyed every bit of what he was seeing. He loved to make tough women cry. Sarah’s heart is shattered to pieces as she sees her sister’s unconscious body lying on the bed. The doctors try to stabilise her as much as they can. She rushed to her sisters’ side. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks, her cheeks pink and pale. She screamed her sister’s name in anguish.

“Olivia… Olivia… Please wake up.”

One of the assisting nurses gently held her back so she wouldn't obstruct the process. Her grief and fear are too enormous to be tamed. She cried out bitterly, blaming her father for putting them in the mess they are. “If only he was more responsible," she wished. The doctor approached her and introduced himself as Dr. Sheed and explained the accident was a severe one and had affected her brain, which had also led to internal bleeding. However, the only way to ensure her survival is surgery.

Sarah paused. Her attention is now focused on the doctor. She stuttered. “How much is it?” she demanded.

“It's a really huge amount of money—about a few millions—because we would fly in a neurosurgeon to complete the other procedures,” he informed her. The response was too heavy; Sarah barely received it in her mind.

“I have about a million and some change; I will go get them right away,” she said, turning to leave. She could not comprehend her offence, as her world was gradually crumbling right before her eyes. She couldn’t stand losing Olivia.

“You should be gone before I arrive, or else I will get you arrested,” Sarah barked at Bobby.

“Oh poor thing, you should be begging me to help you,” he said as he held her chin, gently pushing it up to make her see his face.

“I will get your money across to you in the evening as well,” she informed him with assurance.

“I’m only here to help you,” he told her. She furrowed her brows at him, knowing fully well that this was just a sweet meal served by the devil himself.

“What do you do?” she asked. His motives were not clear to her. Bobby closed the distance between them. He lifted her chin with one finger and stared into her blue eyes.

“We are running out of time, ma'am; her pulse is dropping,” one of the doctors shouted.

Sarah’s heart broke at the sound of those words. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared into Bobby’s eyes.

“Please let me go,” she begged.