Selling out

Two days after

ABIGAIL CONNOR

"Mom, I want ice cream" Ava pouted at me and I rolled my eyes at her. Ever since she came out of the operation room, her father had been spoiling her none stop with gifts and snacks and she was getting too used to it.

"No, baby girl. You have taken enough, no more sweet or candies. Nothing" I said to her and ran my hands through her hair gently while seating beside her bed.

"Dad....." she called and turned to her father who was sitting at the other side of her bed. He seemed to be the only one who did what she wanted.

"Darling, your mom is right, you need to cut down on those things for a while" he replied her.

"But dad ..."

"My hands are tied here baby, your mom is even glaring at me" he gave her a pout of his own and I laughed at his pathetic attempt.

"Don't do that again" Ava chuckled.

"But I do it amazingly well' he said playfully.

"No...you look like someone who was strangled to death" Ava chuckled and I laughed hard with a tear slipping away from my eyes.

My Ava was laughing once again, she could smile again and eat till she over fed. My baby was alive and healthy, she was not going to die as I had thought, she was going to finish high school and go to college and be like her big sister. For over 10 years, we had been fighting for her to remain alive, she had been battling for her life and today, I could stare at her and be happy she was going to get to her 15th birthday without seeing her in pain, I was happy she was going to smile once more. Those days she looked pale and dead were over and I was happy. What else could a mother like me have demanded for if not for this, what else could I have wanted if not for a happy family. Though we didn't have the money, but we had life and peace and I could watch my children smile. That was the only thing I could demand of and nothing more.

"Mom, you are crying" Ava's voice pulled me out of my own thoughts, then I realized I had been crying openly and I quickly wiped my tears away.

"Is something wrong?' her sweet voice asked concerned.

"No, sweet heart" I said and took her hands in mine.

"I am just so happy that you can...." more tears came down my cheeks.

"I am happy that you can smile and eat and laugh and be normal...you can be healthy again" I openly cried and kissed the back of her hands.

"I'm sorry I had to be so.... sick" I could see tears clouding her eyes as she spoke.

"Shhh. Don't ever say that, it wasn't your fault" I cried more and hugged her tightly, unable to express my joy, my relief and happiness. Connor watched me and his daughter have our time before he got up and came to my side of the bed.

"You should let her rest now...come on, stop crying now" Connor held my arms and pulled me away from Ava.

"Come on, go to sleep now" he said to Ava with a smile on his face. Her eyes held defiant but she washed it immediately before she nodded her head and closed her eyes.

Connor and I stood there and watched her like we had never seen her in our life. It was like giving birth all over again.

"You both can't have enough of her I see" a voice said behind us and we both turned to the door to see the lady who had paid the bills. My heart skipped and my husband held me tighter. 

When Ava was being operated on, our minds were too occupied with the fact that it was our daughter who was in there and we were too concerned for her welfare to even remember that we were indebted to the wife of the former head of state.

"You both look like you have seen your deaths" she smiled warmly at us.

"I have that effect on people, I won't bite, I promise"she teased.

She was clearly happy at the position she had kept us, not that I was unhappy that she had paid the bills, we had no way of paying those bills and if it wasn't for her, my daughter would have been long dead or about to die because there was no way we could have raised such an amount. But her deed came with a price, a price we were yet to know. What ever she wanted us to do, scared me. Rich people in the city always took the poor ones like us as puppets and she wasn't just some rich woman. They were the wealthiest family in the state, everyone, people like us, who were poor preferred to never come in contact with them because of the rumors of their brutality. I felt like I was standing in front of the devil, himself and she had gotten us trapped 

"Can we talk?" she asked when neither of us gave her a reply. 

"Yes...uhmmm, the waiting room" my husband suggested and she shook her head.

"Let's talk in my car. This is supposed to be confidential" she said and I looked at my husband nervously. He squeezed my arms tighter in a way of reassuring me that all was going to be fine.

"Okay ma'am" he gave her a reply and her smile broadened.

She turned around and started walking, her security stood at the side of the door and waited for us to move before they followed behind us. As we walked through the hospital, I could feel the eyes of everyone on us, they were watching, some were murmuring, some whispered, some cleared out of the way, others bowed in greeting and some brought our their various phones and took pictures. I was nervous enough as it seemed but the eyes on us made me feel like they all knew I was dining with the devil, I was more than frightened and tensed.

We got to where her car was parked and the guard who was standing at the door opened it for her to step in. She did and urged us to do same. The car could contain her, myself and my husband without any sort of discomfort. 

We did thesame and for a second I was amazed at the interior of the car, there was a t.v and two seat facing each other.  I and Connor sat at the seat facing hers and held each other hands. 

"Leave the car" she suddenly said and I looked at her confused. But not until I head the front door open then slam shut then I realized she was talking to her driver.  We were left alone with her and my nerves were playing all sorts of tricks on me.

"Let's go straight to the point, shall we?" she asked and we both nodded our head in agreement. She turned to her bag immediately and brought out a news paper, then she handed it to us. Connor took the paper and stared at her, then back to the paper and then her again. We didn't understand what we were supposed to do with it.

"Read" she commanded and my eyes immediately ran to the paper.

"WEDDING BELLS RINGS AS JORDAN CHASE, SON OF LIAM CHASE IS SOON TO BE MARRIED"Was the first headline I saw but even as I read through the newspaper, I didn't see anything that was beyond normal.

Connor and I looked up at her with confusion, she still had that smile on her face, it was unwavering.

"you still don't understand?" she asked.

"yes..." my nerves allowed me to speak.

"My son will be getting married soon" she repeated the first headline I read and my confusion grew.

"Well, congratulations ma'am" my husband chipped in. She smiled and stared at us again, this time more intensely.

"I picked a bride two days ago" she started.

" She is Indeed beautiful, she actually doesn't know yet" she added and something in me snapped at the thought that started flooding in.

"Genesis Connor is his bride" she said with all seriousness. 

At the mention of that name, it felt like I couldn't breath anymore, the car became too hot for me and I started fanning myself with the news paper. I didn't need a seer anymore, I could see through her statement, she helped a life in exchange of another. She helped us pay the pill in exchange for my daughter. My eyes burned with tears as they freely flooded my eyes. Being poor was a curse.

"Ma'am, you can't do this. She is our first child, she just graduated, we can't just push her off to marry your son" Connor protested bitterly.

"Oh but you can, you must infact. That's the price you have to pay for your other daughter's hospital bills" she grinned at us. He went quiet while I sobbed, my heart was heavy and there was so much burden in it, it sealed my lips.

"There has to be something else we can do, we can't sell her off like that" Connor said.

"The marriage preparation has already started dear Connor. I want your daughter for my son and it has to be soon" she replied firmly and Connor went quiet again.

"Why are you acting like it's a bad thing. This is an opportunity any parent would grab with open arms" she said and my eyes shot up at her.

"She is a graduate and a beautiful one at that. She doesn't have to go looking for a job like the others, she doesn't have to struggle anymore because a bed of roses has already been set up for her" she added and turned to me.

"Getting her through college must have been hard, if not impossible. Your daughter must have gone through so much, do you still want her to be striving and fighting for a better life when one has been presented to her already" she said, a mother to a mother. And yes I didn't want her fighting for everything she had to have, I wanted her to be happy and fulfilled. Any mother in my situation would want what was better for her child.

"We are rich, filthy rich Mrs Connor. She will be getting married to the richest family in the state, she will have everything, money, fame, happiness and a handsome husband by her side, every girl's dream. And you my dear would no longer be poor, Genesis your daughter is a gem and with her around, with her as my daughter in-law you will rewarded beyond your imagination" she added.

I stopped crying and stole a glance at Connor who seemed to understand where my feelings were going to.

"Abigail no..." he whispered to me.

"Oh Connor. This is a place any girl would want to be, every body would jump at this opportunity" she said to my husband.

"I am not selling her out" he said angrily.

"Don't see it that way. Genesis deserves better, Ava deserves a better life and you know it. With Genesis as my son's wife, your lives will change for the better, Ava will have a better life and future, you both would no longer be poor and Genesis will be the envy of every other girl" she said and my husband's shoulder slumped in defeat. 

He knew that part of what she said was true, no one in the city would pass up such an opportunity, he knew it was a life changing opportunity for us, for Ava and for Genesis as well.

"Tick tock, I don't have much time on my hands. This marriage needs to take place in less than two weeks, so think fast. It ain't like you have got an option, this is the only way you can pay me back" she said wickedly and I sighed in defeat.

"Genesis will never agree to this you know" Connor said in defeat and a smile spread around her face in victory.

"She wouldn't I guess" I mumbled. My daughter was hot headed, she was a girl that preferred to make her own part, she was strong and even with a background like hers, she fought to be different and to change our lives. Which she was supposed to do after graduation, I could already feel the fire she was going to get loose on us if she found out we sold her out.

"But it's for her good" I said to Connor, trying to convince myself that I wasn't a bad mother who was about to make a grave mistake.

"I guess so, who wouldn't want to be a chase?" he asked me.

"I guess that's a yes then" she clapped her hands with excitement.

"Yes ma'am" we accepted her offer.

"It's Leona, call me Leona" she said.

At the hospital room, my heart was still filled with anxiety. 

"Did we make the right choice? was I a bad mother? how could I sell my daughter out? will she hate me? what will be her reaction?" thoughts like this and more kept running back to me.

GENESIS

"Can I leave now, I am so tired of being here" I nagged for the one hundred and one time. Tiana rolled her eyes at me.

"Well yes...the doctor said you can leave" Nate replied and I immediately jumped up from the bed. I hated hospitals, they knew I hated hospitals and drugs and injection. I was surprised I didn't die from being locked up in there for days.

"Finally, this place reeks" I said and went to the bathroom to get changed

"This is how a hospital is supposed to smell" Tiffany replied me.

"Well I hate it" I came out of the bathroom with a change of shirt and a nose mask around my nose. It was supposed to help ward off the unpleasant hospital smell. 

The guys looked at me and rolled their eyes before packing up. They had all been by my side when I was sick, bringing in food and more food and clothes and magazines and anything that would make me to stop whining about leaving the hospital when I hadn't been discharged. 

"Guys come on, let's go" I nagged when I felt they were taking too long to pack up.

"I swear I will punch your nose if I hear one more word from you" Tiana threatened and I immediately shut it, Tiffany and Nate smirked at me and i sat down while they did their thing. I didn't want to push anyone's button, they were my caretaker for days, it was the least I could do.

Just when they finished and picked up our bags, Tiffany shrieked and my heart skipped, I literally went into panic mood.

"What....what?" Tiana ran to her and so did I with my hands to my chest.

"Jordan Chase...." she shrieked again making things worse for me. I pulled the news paper she held from her hands and slapped it on her face.

"What?" I yelled and pulled the nose mask away from my nose so I could breath before I sat down on the bed in attempts to calm the way I was breathing. Nate immediately sat down close to me and rubbed my back in gentle strides so I could calm down.

"Opps, sorry" she apologized to me.

"Are you okay?" Tiana asked and I nodded my head. There was no way I wasn't going to be okay, they would literally keep me in that hospital for another one week and I didn't want that.

After taking deep breaths, I felt better and then I turned to Tiffany with questioning eyes. Her eyes glowed and I could tell she would have shrieked again, but she couldn't  so she clapped her hands and took the news paper away from me. She spread it apart and pointed to a particular place while we went through it.

"WEDDING BELLS RINGS AS JORDAN CHASE, SON OF LIAM CHASE IS SOON TO BE MARRIED" was the headline. Nate rolled his eyes at Tiffany and walked away when he realized it was a girl's thing.

"Oh no...he is getting married" Tiana cried. She had a huge crush on Jordan and had hoped they would meet and get married. I smirked mockingly.

"You both are nuts" I simply said and picked up my phone.

"Uhmmmm, durrr......this is Jordan Chase we are talking about" Tiana fired at me. I rolled my eyes and headed to the door, it was time for me to go home to my parents

"The girlfriend is so lucky"

" who knew he had a girl friend" I could hear them mumbling. They were such children, having crushes on a guy that would never see them or even know about their existence. I picked up my bag and thought of going home straight to my parents, I needed to see them and Ava.

But My phone rang and interrupted my thoughts, I checked the caller ID, it was my father. Just the person I was thinking of.

"Dad...". I picked up the phone excitedly.

"Pumpkin...your voice is what I need right now, it's soothes my troubled soul so much" he said and my cheeks turned red. He was a poet and was always making one literally remark about me. 

"Oh...don't start dad......" I paused when his words rang in my head again.

"Troubled...what's wrong?" my heart was beating fast again at the sound of trouble.

"Whooaaa, shhhh" I could feel Nate behind me, his hands were on my back as he gently rubbed all over my back. I looked at him in gratitude, he knew me so well.

"Whoa, darling, there is no trouble, uhmmm wrong choice of words. I am so sorry, calm down okay" my dad said in attempts to calm me down.

This was exactly why I didn't like stress. I was a bold, crazy, no nonesense kind of girl but was terrible under pressure and they all understood it so well. I kept the phone on speaker and dropped it at a table close by.

"Are you lying to me, you never make such mistakes with words dad" my bones felt something was wrong. It had been feeling it for days but I ignored it because I didn't want to be put under pressure but I could feel it again.

"Genesis......"

"Where is Ava? did something happened? where are you guys right now?" I wasn't calming down, his words got me worked up and he couldn't take it back. Tiffany and Tiana paused their heart breaking cries over a stupid crush and came closer to me.

"Babe.... relax" Nate whispered in my ears and I took deep breathes. I had to relax, I had to calm down.

"Dad...will you say something" I snapped when my father gave me no response.

"Come to the hospital, we are at San Buckingham hospital" he said and a wave of dizziness came over me and my knees grew weak as my heart beat increased.

I fell back and Nate caught me just in time.

"Calm down....your sister is fine. Nothing happened" he said trying to assure me.

"But...." my chest heaved up and down.

"No buts, you can't check on her if you are this way. Now deep breaths" Nate ordered.

I obeyed and took deep breathes, really deep ones to calm my nerves.

"Here, take this" Tiana gave me her bottle of water which I took and gulped down my throat within seconds.

"Better." she asked and I nodded my head.

"They are in this hospital, how long have they been here and I didn't know?" I asked.

"This is a huge hospital, don't blame yourself" Tiffany said to me.

When I felt better, I picked up my phone and that was the queue the others needed, they picked up several things and I headed to the reception with hurried steps.

"Excuse me" I called on the nurse I met behind the desk the moment I got to the entrance of the building.

"I am looking for an Ava Connor" I said and watched her move her mouse for a long time with out saying anything to me.

"Miss, excuse me, can you tell me the room I can get Ava Connor?" I asked again and this nurse popped a bubble gum, before she looked up at me and then back to what she was doing like I wasn't there. At my state at that particular time, she was toiling with the wrong person. 

I banged my hands violently on her desk, and jumped up reaching out to the collar of her cloth frightening her and others around. I held the cloth and pulled her close to me without getting a fight from her, I was holding it too tight, I could tell she couldn't breath while I ignored the attention I created for myself.

"You wouldn't want me to report you for negligence of duty would you? because if I do it, this other three behind me will too and I won't stop till you are fired...."I said in a deadly tone.

"Now, where is Ava Connor?" I asked.

"531" her voice came out like a dead whistle and I pushed her away violently.

"Bitch" I cursed before walking away and ignoring the people that stared at me.

I got to the room and pushed the door open.

"Blue eyes...." my sister yelled, shocking me. I wasn't expecting an energized child when I walked into the room, so yes I was surprised. She always calls me blue eyes.

"Finally you came" she shrieked and opened her hands for a hug which I obliged her. I hugged her so tight with pure relief before I sat down beside her, clearly confused and dumbfounded. In front of her were candies, chocolates, hamburgers, hot dogs and cheese. 

"Sweetheart..." my mom spread her hands at me from the corner of the room with my dad beside her. I didn't even notice them but I ran into their arms like I had not seen them in ages. 

"You came rather quickly" my mom said.

"We were close by" Tiana put in immediately in a cover up. They knew my parents and my parents knew them except for Nate who I was supposed to introduce to them soon, but not at the hospital, it was a terrible timing.

"What's going on, how is she? how long has she been here? why so many snacks and food?" I asked all at ones.

"I am fine, I got a new kidney" Ava replied me with a wide smile on her face while I stared at her in aww.

"That was days ago, you didn't show" she pouted while I remained speechless and kept staring from her to my parents. I was so confused.

"A rich lady paid for my new kidney and got me all this, she said she would take care of us all and that you are her daughter in law...."

"Wait....what?"

Who loved what Genesis did to that nurse? I think our girl is a fighter 😎😎😎