Chapter Four

Ivy has already paid the money for her dad's operation.since she was born, this was the first time she made such a huge amount of money in a day but she promised herself that she wouldn't try it again because it was wrong to rob people.

Although she managed to gather the money for the operation,she hasn't found the peace she needed.she was very worried as her dad was in the operating room.

Although it was already winter,Ivy could feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

She paced up and down the lobby of the hospital continuously taking a look at the door of the operating room.

After a long wait,the door to the operating room opened and she could see the nurses carry her dad on the stretcher to god knows where.

She rushed towards the doctor immediately.

"Doctor,where are they taking my father to?Is he alright?"She asked impatiently.

"Calm down dear,your father is fine,the operation was successful,there is nothing to worry about"the doctor replied smiling at her.

His words were like cold water to her anxious soul.

She heaved a sigh of relief,a gigantic grin spread across her face for the first time ever since she received the news that her father was dying and needed a heart transplant.

"Thank you so much doctor, can I see him now"she said to the doctor.

"Yes you can but only for a few minutes,he will spend some days in the hospital so he can be monitored closely,he would be discharged if he doesn't show any bad sign"

"Okay, thanks so much doctor"Ivy said to the doctor.

"I will be on my way now,I have an things to take care of"the doctor said to her before leaving.

"Yes!!!..."Ivy wanted to scream but covered her mouth with her palms when she realized that this was a hospital and silence was very important.

She changed into a hospital gown, wearing a glove and mask,she entered the recovery room where her father laid on the bed.

He hasn't woke up yet,some tubes were still connected to his body.her lips curved into a smile on seeing him.finally,he was okay.

She didn't know what she would have done if she had lost him,her father was the only family she had in this world.

She would have puched the hell out of the doctor if anything happened to her father,she was glad that he was okay.

"Dad, didn't I tell you that I would do anything for you, don't even think of leaving me alone because I would never allow you to"she said to him although she knew he wasn't hearing what she was saying.

Tears fogged up in her eyes as she stared at her father,they had gone through so much together,she hasn't even repaid him for all he did for her.

"Please miss,you should leave now,it's not good for the patient"she heard a voice say to her.

She turned to see a nurse standing by the door.

"Okay,I will"Ivy replied staring at her father one more time before leaving.

***

***

Ivy left the hospital in a good mood,not knowing what else to do,she left for the restaurant where she worked part time.

On arriving at the restaurant,the middle aged woman who owned the restaurant was surprised to see her.she had remembered Ivy taking the day off.

"Good afternoon ma'am"she greeted.

"I thought you said you are not coming to work today because of your father's operation, how did it go?"

"It was successful ma'am"Ivy replied taking the apron that was hung on a hall

"That's a relief,you shouldn't have bothered coming here,you should take a break,it must have been really hard for you".

"Thanks for your concern ma'am but I don't have anything else to do,it's better I come here and make money instead of sitting around doing nothing,I really need this money more than ever because my dad will be discharged soon"Ivy said to her.

"Okay,if you say so,you should attend to the customer at table ten"the woman said to her.

"Okay ma'am"Ivy replied walking away to start her job.

The woman couldn't help but sigh, she admired Ivy since she started working for her,it was really hard to see girls her age who worked hard like her rather than investing their time on making themselves look beautiful to men.

"This is your pay for today,"her madam said, handing some money to her.

Ivy counted the money happily,she was surprised with the amount.

"Ma'am,I think you made a mistake"she said handing some money over to her madam but her madam stopped her.

"I didn't make a mistake dear,I decided to increase your pay"the woman said to her and Ivy couldn't believe her ears.

"Thank you so much ma'am"

"No need to thank me dear,you deserve it,you should go home now"her madam said to her.

"Thank you so much ma'am"she kept on repeating as she ran off.

She was very happy as she went to her other part time jobs and she earned well, good things were happening to her after her father's operation. little did she know that her night mares would begin when she arrived home later in the night.she was so tired from working so much and the only thing she needed to do now was jump on her bed and sleep.

The smile on her face disappeared immediately when she arrived at her apartment and it was replaced with sadness and shock.

The pot bellied man who she recognized as her landlord was standing in front of her apartment with some huge men.Their things was scattered on the floor.the man was staring daggers at her.looking at him,he was scary and she knew that begging him was not the option because he won't listen to anything she had to say but there was no harm in trying afterall.

She didn't know the exact price of the items she stole but she knew deep within her that a rich person like the man she stole from wouldn't wear cheap things.she didn't argue with the buyers because she needed the money immediately.only if she had known that their landlord would come today.

"Good evening Mr Lucas"she greeted but he didn't respond making the situation more awkward.

"Sir please, what is going on here and why is my things outside?"she asked although she knew within herself that it was a foolish question.

"Such a foolish question,What do you think?I am throwing you out of my house"he said to her in a cold voice.

"Please sir,I beg of you,I don't where else to go if you do this to me,I promise to pay you this month if I gather enough money"she said for a loud laughter to be heard.

She looked at the man laughing infront of her hoping that he would listen to her.

"I don't need you in my house or my premises anymore, just get of her before I throw you out myself"Lucas said to her.

Not knowing what to do,she dipped her hand into her pocket,she brought out the money she made for that day and handed it over to the man but what the man did next shocked her.

He threw the money in a trash bin and lit it up with a lighter.

Ivy was transfixed at a spot as she watched her hard earned money burn into ashes.tears rolled down her cheeks as she glared at the heartless monster infront of her.

"That's the money I made today and I planned to keep it for my father's medicine, how can you be so cruel,you should have given it back to me instead of doing that"Ivy said to him.

"Don't talk to me anyhow,you disrespected me by giving me that trash you called money in the first place"Lucas said to her.

One thing Ivy hated was someone disrespecting her,she doesn't fail to fight back no matter who that person is.what annoyed her more was that the man was proving that he was right with what he did instead of apologizing.she worked hard for that money.

"You are acting like we have owed you for decades besides this is the first time we are owing you and that's because of my father's operation,I pleaded with you to see reasons with me but you don't even plan on doing that,do you know how I worked hard for this money you call trash,you should have given it back to me instead of burning it,you are old enough to become my grandfather but you don't act like an elder,you are rich doesn't mean that you should step on people below you"Ivy said to him.

"You should tell that to your useless sick poor father"Lucas said to her.

Ivy was red with anger,she clenched her fists together.

"You can disrespect me all you want but don't disrespect my father"she said to Lucas.

"I said the truth, your father is just a liability to you, maybe you should sell him off so you can be able to pay your house rent"he said and the men he brought with him burst into laughter.

Lucas was having the fun of his life as he looked at the poor girl infront of him.he loved looking down on people,he loved feeling superior and he loved seeing the helpless looks on his preys but what happened next shocked him to the spine.

A slap landed on his cheeks,his face went numb.this was the first time someone challenged him.

"How dare you?"he tried to slap her but controlled himself when he saw some neighbours staring at them.he didn't want to risk being locked up in jail.he might be rich but he was not above the law.

"I will deal with you later"he said to her through gritted teeth.

"Throw her out of here"he ordered the men before walking away in anger.

"Don't touch me,I know how to leave"she said to the men who was intimidated by her look.

She picked up the important things she needed and walked away with her bag.

On leaving the apartment,she was now outside on the streets,it was 11pm already and everywhere was drop dead silence.

She didn't know where to go to,her grip on her bag tightened.she was scared that something might happen to her.

The street was long and quiet and the only noise there came from the trees dancing to the movement of the wind.she was shivering from the cold wind piercing into her skin.

She walked into another street, this street was more quiet than the other one.she kept walking for what seems like forever before arriving in front of a black gate.it was an old friend's house.

She knocked for a while on the gate but no

one was coming.she was about to walk away dejectedly when she heard some footsteps.she heaved a sigh of relief immediately knowing that they were still awake.

"Who is there?"came a tiny voice she recognized as her friend's.

"It's Ivy"she replied for the gate to open immediately.

"Hi Linda"

There was a bored look on Linda's face seeing Ivy with a bag.

"What are you doing here so late at night?"she asked.

"I am so sorry to disturb you but I was chased outside of my house,I don't have anywhere to sleep for the night so I decided to come here to know whether you can allow me to stay at your place just for this night"she explained to Linda who frowned.

"I am sorry Ivy but you can't stay at my place,my parents are around"Linda replied.

"Please Linda,it's really scary staying out here alone,I won't cause any trouble,if you want,I can sleep in your compound,I can sleep anywhere but not outside here on the streets"

"You really have to go,my parents might be worried about why I am taking so long,"Linda said to her before closing the gate.

The tears that she has been holding for long escaped her eyes.she had never felt so helpless in her life before.

She was walking down the streets when a black car pulled over her.

Her heart skipped a beat as she wondered whether she had fallen into the hands of the evil people.