Chapter 2

Tears rolled off Rose's eyes as she and her mother entered the hospital with her little brother's body in her arms. The truck had hit him, making him fly in the other direction. The poor boy's leg was affected and it looked like his skull too. Rose and her mother could tell because of the blood that was rushing from the side of his head.

"Save my son, please!!! Save him!!! I beg of you!!" Rose's mother kept begging. The nurses tried to calm her down as they slowly pushed her off the stretcher and rolled him off. They had tried to push Rose off of it too but she was adamant. She refused. She kept on saying she would stay with him to the end.

"Madam. I'm sorry but if you don't let go of the stretcher, we might have to call the security here. We do not let people who aren't authorized by the hospital go in there. Please understand. We know your brother is in need of treatment but you need to let him go" they said to her when they had finally reached the entrance of the emergency ward. Rose could not hear a single thing they said as she tightened her grip on the metal stretcher. When they started to pull her away, she immediately started screaming. 

"No!!! No!!! Not again!! No!! I will not allow it!!! Not again!!" She fought to hold on to the stretcher but was still pulled back. The moment was intense as people came out to witness what was going on. Tears started to roll off her eyes as she struggled to hold on to the stretcher.

Rose's mother was brought there to calm her daughter down. She tried to beg her daughter to release the stretcher so they could take Michael inside but her pleas fell on deaf ears. The struggle was intense until a nurse somewhere injected Rose with a drug that made her feel drowsy. Instantly, she let go and they were able to take her brother in.

Rose was left on the waiting chair with her mother as everyone else dispatched to their various duties. Her mother cried and wailed. She even sat on the floor while Rose sat still, tears rolling down her eyes. She was trying to be strong for both her and her mother. But for how long?

When her mother called out her brother's name again, she couldn't hold it much longer as she suddenly bursted out in loud wails, crying. She rolled to the ground and started scattering things. She and her mother were unable to control themselves.

And that was it. That was how Rose's graduation spirit was ruined. Instead, she spent the happiest day of her life in the hospital. Crying and wailing.

*****

An hour must have passed as the doctor and two nurses came out of the emergency ward. Rose spotted them first as she stood up from the floor and ran to them. 

"Doctor.. doctor!!! Tell me please, how is my brother?!! How is he faring?" She asked in tears, her voice low and concerned. Her mother echoed her words with a faint voice.

The doctor paused. It seemed like he was taking too long to talk and so Rose drew his coat. "Talk to me Doctor!!?" She reminded him. She watched as he took a deep breath and then started talking.

"Your brother needs surgery for his legs and also his skull. Also, in the process, his rib cage was damaged badly. His spine was affected and his waist is complicated to explain. We suggest surgery immediately. We managed to keep him alive for now but if that body laying there doesn't get surgery in the next one hour, I'm sorry to tell you, Miss but your brother would be as good as dead. Now, if you may excuse me, I'll be on my way" he said and passed her. 

Doctors were always so heartless when they spoke, it was almost as though he wasn't talking about a human. Rose watched as he walked away. That was the same walk and pace the doctor who treated her father had. It was the same things for her father that he had just mentioned for her brother and it was about the same reason they had lost him that they would lose little Michael —-money.

Rose turned to her mother as she was about to talk but her mother was already on the floor wailing again.

"Rose, where are we going to get the money to cover your brother's expenses? Are we going to let him die just like your father?" Her mother shouted out loud. She wailed so much and then turned to Rose to say more things.

"You already know how it is. Even if I were to sell the toy shop and the house and even other things we own, you know we would never be able to pay this hospital bill, Rose. What do we do?!!!" She cried out more. Rose stood there frozen in her steps as she could not say a word. All the words her mother was saying were true. They had no penny to their names, their father had left a big debt behind which they were yet to pay off and now, her brother lay in the hospital moments away from being dead. She couldn't think of anything as she let more tears roll off her eyes.

Rose stood there silent as she tried to crack her brain on who she could borrow money from. Who could lend her money for this kind of problem? That money would have to be a huge amount, she imagined, but how would she pay back. How long would it take? She thought. She was still thinking when she felt the sudden urge to want to puke. She was now feeling nauseous and dizzy. She looked down at her mother who was still wailing and crying. Rose wanted to tell her mother she would be right back but her mother looked too preoccupied and so she left her. Rose made her way through the hospital's hallway and soon down the stairs. 

She was now down the stairs in another hallway, walking straight to the restroom when suddenly, someone bumped shoulders into hers. That sudden move almost sent Rose flying down into the ground but her quick reflexes helped her avoid that, as she immediately balanced herself. She came back on her feet and was ready to lash out on whoever did that.

"Next time, watch where you are going. You punk! Couldn't you see I was busy trying to make my way to the restroom?" She said as she looked up to the individual. He was a handsome man. He must have stood at six feet or more as his frame overpowered hers but she didn't care. She wasn't there for his figure or his height. She needed to get to the restroom.

She barely said another word as she rolled her eyes and walked past him.

She had gone some steps away from him when he called her back.

"Hey punk!! Come back here. I want to have a word with you" he said boldly to her.

Rose turned. Did he just call her punk?