9: Jorel Anderson

"Tell me who are they? How did I get here? Why did they leave me, Mom?"

A barrage of questions slid quickly from Marsha's mouth with ragged breaths and sharp gazes that were completely focused on Jorel.

A question that left Jorel dumbfounded in surprise and her eyes widen. Jorel's heart quickened after pausing for a moment from the shock. The two of them still looked at each other in front of Marsha's room, which was left open. The topmost step of a series of stairs connecting the second floor in the Anderson family home.

Imagining the truth about the past, the origin of a Marsha Anderson makes Jorel breathless. Memories that brought her to a name that she would never be able to get rid of in her entire life, namely a beautiful woman who became the eternal love of Jorel Anderson's life even though he had married a man with one child from her previous marriage. The woman is Delania Ann, who has also been married before and gave birth to a baby girl who was never expected by the man who married her now. Distance also separates the two. Los Angeles and Rio De Janeiro.

All the nerves in Jorel's body twitched violently along with the rush of blood in every vein. It feels stifling a questionable past.

"I raised you, Sha. Don't ever bring up your naughty parents again. Because they don't deserve to be parents!" Jorel's hoarse voice sounded loud in the silence of Marsha's bedroom on the second floor. Jorel's breath hitched.

"They are still my parents, Mom!" Marsha replied no less loudly.

They both looked sharp and straight. The sadness radiated from Jorel's eyes. She looked at Marsha with all the disappointment that coincided with the shock of an old secret that he had not expected to reveal. Marsha Anderson was not born from the womb of Jorel Anderson. Marsha Anderson was born with the surname Del Santos, Marsha Natalia Del Santos. Her father Benjamin Del Santos and her mother Delania Ann is the half-sister of Jorel.

Marsha with all her anger mixed with shock and feeling that she had been lied to make her forget herself. Anxiety attacked her mercilessly. The search for the truth about herself, and her family background leads Marsha in an ambush of anxiety and fear that exceeds anyone. "Why should I know this big secret from other people?!" Marsha asked in a voice demanding the truth, her eyes brimming with tears at Jorel's pale figure.

"Don't you ever question them in this house again?" Jorel said it firmly.

"I'm getting out of this house, Mom!" Marsha's loud voice made Jorel's eyes widen. "I was not born into the Anderson family. I was born into a family of criminals who abandoned me for money!" Marsha's scream was so loud that it echoed in every corner of her bedroom before she pushed Jorel who was standing in the doorway. Marsha rushed to run towards the stairs before Jorel grabbed her arm, Marsha's spontaneous reaction which had been filled with anxiety, accidentally pulled and pushed Jorel down the stairs.

"Mom!!!!" Marsha shouted as Jorel's body rolled down the stairs before stopping at the third step with his head covered in blood. "Mom!!!"

"You came to see your mother, Mrs. Anderson?" The question made Marsha blink in surprise, almost tiptoeing on the heels of the shoes she was wearing. She saw the figure of a man in a white coat walking over along with a woman in white as well and the woman wearing a small hat on the top of her head. Both smiled at Marsha who was trying to smile.

Her daydream about Jorel disappeared along with the presence of the doctor and nurse who had been treating and caring for Jorel Anderson.

"We are sympathetic to the news about your family, Mrs. Anderson," said the doctor. The words that Marsha didn't expect. She came to visit Jorel Anderson to find out the latest developments, not to discuss or answer questions from anyone regarding the news about the arrest of Lucy Anderson, her sister. The news has spread to every corner of the country. Murder is what most people think is a heinous crime. A cynical look and judging how sadistic Lucy is, not only that, their interest in the news revolves around the reason Lucy killed Igor, which is her sister-in-law, Marsha's ex-husband.

News headlines increasingly make everything dramatic. Dr. Anderson was previously so famous. Known by many for her involvement in the healing of Alena Harris who is now the wife of Rudolf Richard Felix. Everything has now turned the other way around. The spinning wheel of life.

"I came to inquire about the whereabouts of my mother, Doctor," said Marsha without responding to the doctor's sympathetic greeting. The man smiled wryly as did the nurse standing by the bed. "How is my mother doing?" asked Marsha again. The expression on their face looks full of smiles. Marsha learns to hide the truth of her feelings in front of many people. Not everyone has genuine sympathy, most of them just want to know what to talk about. Marsha hated it.

"Your mother's condition has not changed significantly."

A statement that made Marsha raise an eyebrow, looking at the doctor with an unusual look. Unchanged results from a series of treatments that Jorel Anderson underwent throughout the years.

"Even though the best treatment has been given?" asked Marsha who sounded sarcastic.

Marsha's eyes met the doctor's. There was a tingling feeling that led to a subtle attack delivered by Marsha in an elegant manner.

"You don't seem to believe in the care we took for your mother, Mrs. Anderson?" replied the doctor named Drew Fisher, Marsha read the two words of the doctor's name written on the coat in cursive letters embroidered with golden thread.

"More or less what you say is true, Dr. Fisher," joked Marsha who seemed to agree. Marsha had thought of everything. She plans to transfer Jorel's treatment to another hospital. With recommendations from several search results, Marsha will first ask for opinions from many parties. One of them is Kate Mary who is a shareholder in a well-known hospital in Boston. "Sorry if my words offended you, but believe me I didn't mean it that way. It is natural for the patient's family to question the patient's condition which has not changed."

"You can take her to another hospital."

"Of course. That's what I'm considering," said Marsha just before her cell phone rang and it called Trevor Brown's name. Marsha did not immediately slide the talk button, she let the call pass without doing anything. Dealing with the mother's doctor is more important than anything else.

"We hope you can do this as soon as possible, Mrs. Anderson."

"Yes, of course, soon."

Marsha immediately contacted the relevant parties. Have a conversation with the hospital where Jorel is currently being treated. Marsha knows that Jorel's coma has no definite time, but it is really strange and invites many questions. The money spent by Lucy is not small. However, the expected results seem far from expectations.

Marsha thought of everything, including terms of finances and the credibility of the doctor from the hospital concerned. Some of the information from the search Marsha has obtained, including the credibility of Dr. Drew Fisher.

Marsha left Jorel's treatment room about thirty minutes after Dr. Fisher completed his check on Jorel. Leaving back Jorel in her unconscious silence.

Marsha has plans to return home soon. Her wide stride down the hospital led her to the parking lot before her cell phone rang again and called out Alena Harris. Surprising and unusual. Marsha still remembers her last meeting with Alena when she was looking for Delia's figure after she disappeared and only left a message on a piece of paper that was placed on the nightstand in the hospital treatment room.

"Good evening, Mrs. Felix," Marsha greeted in a polite voice.

"Hi, Sha. Call me Alena, you don't need to be so formal with me,' said Alena, followed by a soft chuckle from the two of them.

Marsha opened her car door and went straight in to sit behind the wheel. "How are you?"

"Please stop that attitude. We can be friends, the same is the case with the friendship between you and Delia," joked Alena who seemed to want to establish a friendship with a conversation that felt more relaxed.

Marsha did not immediately drive the car. She wanted to finish her conversation with Alena. A rare opportunity that Marsha had to take advantage of. She couldn't waste any information that Alena might know about Delia Ashton.

The same thing occurred to Alena Harris. She tried to get closer to Marsha Anderson. Marsha's figure looks fun to Alena. The thing that seems clear is witnessing the togetherness between Marsha Anderson and Delia Ashton.

Delia is a close friend, limiting herself and setting many boundaries for herself. Alena has no doubts about the closeness and friendship between Marsha and Delia. It's not easy to get close to Delia and Marsha proves it.

"Can we meet? I… I represent Mom to extend the invitation to dinner together in our family, Sha." Alena conveyed the meaning and purpose of her contacting Marsha. Surprised and a little disappointed before finally Marsha thought that the opportunity to find out where Delia was was opened. Marsha felt that she didn't fully know who Delia Ashton really was. Their relationship is more colored by misunderstandings that should never happen. Limitations that Marsha does not fully apply in her life. "Could you come to join our show?" asked Alena again in a voice full of hope.

"Yes, of course. I will work on it." Marsha answered briefly and quickly as if not thinking anymore. Felix's family has helped a lot for the case that hit Marsha. Olga's affair until Sally Pladys was caught.

"I'm glad to hear it. We await your arrival." Alena's voice sounded enthusiastic.

"May I ask you one thing, Alena?" Marsha asked with a little doubt that could be heard from the intonation of the voice that came out of her vocal cords.

The two of them fell silent with the direction of the conversation predictable for both of them. "You want to ask where Delia is?" asked Alena without preamble. Marsha knew that Alena had been a part of Delia's life and knew Delia better than she did. "Disgusted, but you don't have to worry about it. Trust me Delia will be fine."

"Can you tell me about her current where abouts?" Marsha urged with the last sliver of hope. Elena didn't answer right away. She was silent for a moment and let Marsha wait for her.

Alena took a deep breath and exhaled freely after that.

"Unfortunately I can't do that. I have---"

"Yes, I understand," interjected Marsha who sounded disappointed.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you about Delia's whereabouts. Because I don't even know where she is either."

"What do you mean?" asked Marsha spontaneously.

"Delia didn't say anything other than a message for me to take care of you."

Like a splash of cold water that splashed her whole body until it felt frozen. Marsha felt her chest constrict with excruciatingly difficult breaths. "Delia needs time, and I'm not sure she wants to meet anyone, not only you, but me too," added Alena in a straightforward and calming way of delivery.

***