Chapter 1 - Accident

Arya's POV -

I am waiting outside the ICU, trying my best to keep myself together. The hospital staff called me an hour ago to inform me that her condition had deteriorated and they were shifting her to the ICU. I came here as soon as I could. This has become more of a routine for me over the past two months, but I don't think anyone can remain calm in this situation, no matter how frequent these emergency calls become. She is my only family, and after learning that she doesn't have much time left, it's normal to feel scared.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and when I saw Drake's name flashing on the screen, I knew that I couldn't convince him this time. I took a deep breath and answered the call. "Are you going to tell me the truth this time?" he asked in his scary, deep voice.

"I'm sorry, Drake," I apologized to him, and I heard a loud thud from the other side, which automatically told me that the situation was seriously messed up. "Are you there?" I asked him, even though I knew he wasn't.

"He left, Arya," I heard Elina's voice and took a deep breath. {I hate it when Drake does this. I'm okay with his scolding now, but if he ignores me and doesn't even scold me, then it's clear that he's beyond mad and irritated with me.}

"I don't know if I'll be able to work tomorrow. Can you please help me postpone tomorrow's appointments?" I asked Elina, but she didn't say anything.

"You know, Arya, sometimes it is not enough just to inform us that you are fine and nothing else." I could easily understand that she was disappointed with me this time. I didn't say anything while she took a tired breath from the other side and continued, "Just take care of yourself, and in case of any issues, call us. Drake didn't show it, but he cares for you," she said and disconnected the call.

"I also care for you guys. That's why I am keeping both of you away from these matters," I mumbled tiredly and slipped the mobile in my pocket. I massaged the back of my neck and closed my eyes to release some tension from my body.

No matter how simple my life looks from the outside, it is messed up to the core. I have many secrets in my life, and one of them is my mother and her condition. Yes, my mother is also a secret. I haven't associated with many people, and the few I have associated myself with think I am an orphan. My mother is my only family, but we don't have a great relationship. She broke all ties with me five years ago when I was eighteen. I tried to contact her many times and told her not to ghost me because she is the only one I have, but for her, I am the daughter who shattered all her dreams and took away the only reason she was living for ... {I can't blame her, though... her life is also messed up}.

I didn't have anything when my mom abandoned me. The bare necessities of life, like food and shelter, became a luxury for me in a single day. I lived on the streets and even did a little pickpocketing to at least buy myself a little food when I could not find any in the garbage or if people didn't give me their leftovers.

I wandered into this small town where I met Drake... well, it's more like he traced me because I stole his wallet. He had a photo of his only daughter, who passed away when she was three years old, in that wallet, and that's why he traced me.

Long story short, when he traced me, I was on the street beating the crap out of a drunkard because he tried to steal money from me that I stole from Drake's wallet... {yeah, karma is a bitch}... Elina was also with him, and when she saw me, she felt terrible for me. She insisted Drake take me with them and offered me a job in their diner. They owned a restaurant and a tattoo studio in Greenville.  In the beginning, I only did the cleaning part, but later on, I developed a liking for tattooing, and Drake helped me with it. I am a tattoo artist now and work in Drake's studio. I worked my ass off to give myself a decent life.

The nurse came out of the room, and I walked towards her. "Can I see her?" I asked her nervously. Similar to the other times, the nurse again declined my request. When you don't know if you can hear that person's voice again, you do everything in your power to be with them, but in my case, I can't even meet my mom without the doctor's permission. "Please" I tried again. 

“You should not place me in this situation every time, Arya,” the nurse said to me with a frown, and I smiled nervously at her. “Fine, but not more than 5 minutes. If someone sees you inside, then I have to suffer the consequences.” I nodded and went inside.

As soon as my eyes landed on her, I couldn't help but feel the same pain and helplessness that I always feel whenever I see her. Her eyes were closed, and different types of tubes and machines were attached to her body. I went towards her while holding back my tears and caressed her forehead softly.

She opened her eyes, and instantly, I could see rage in them. She was about to raise her hand in anger when I held her hand tightly to stop it from moving.

“You also know you can’t hurt me in this state. There is no need to be violent. You are just hurting yourself more like this,” I said to her, and though she stopped moving, she was still glaring at me.

“Get out,” she murmured because she didn’t even have the energy to speak clearly.

“No need to act like that. The hospital staff is more eager than you to throw me out of this room,” I said to her while cleaning her face and hands with wet wipes. She tried to take her hands back, but she didn’t have much energy left in her body. When I was done with these things, I looked at her and found her looking out the window. “I will come tomorrow,” though I knew she didn’t want to see my face, I still told her.

“I hope I will die before seeing your face again,” she mumbled, and I couldn’t help but sigh.

“I don’t think any of us are going to get an easy death,” I mumbled and got up from the stool. She turned towards me with the same expression that she had before.

“I should have killed you that day,” she mumbled, and though I had heard it many times before, it still hurts.

“Yes, you should have,” I said without looking at her and exited the room. I walked out of the hospital. I raised my hoodie’s cap and covered my face with a mask and goggles. If anyone saw me here, then it would be a huge problem.

I walked towards my bike, and tears started flowing from my eyes. I went there and kicked the bike’s tire out of frustration. Why is everything so fucked up? Whenever I think that I am finally getting hold of my life, something comes and destroys the little peace that I had built, bit by bit. I wiped the tears, wore the helmet, and started my bike. It was 12 am right now, and the hospital staff would not let me meet her till 10 am. I want to stay with her, but this place is unsafe.

Greenville, where I live, is a two-hour drive from here. I couldn’t admit my mom to any hospital there because I didn’t want people to know about her. The hospital where my mom is is in Springfield. I knew that driving at this time was also unsafe, especially when more than half of the way was nothing but woods on either side of the road, but still, if someone spotted me there, then I couldn’t even imagine what would happen.

I was driving and lost in my thoughts when I heard growls from the woods. I didn’t stop my bike; instead, I increased the speed, thinking that whoever the animal was would go away, but the rustling and snapping of branches coming from the woods told me another story.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I cursed under my breath and kept my focus on the dark road ahead. I couldn't even go at full speed because there were no road lights in the area, and due to the woods, everything was pitch black. Suddenly, an animal crossed the road just a few meters away from my bike, and I slammed on the brakes, causing me to lose balance.

“Aahhhhhhhhh…” I shrieked, "shit." I could still hear the growls.