Chapter 2: Four Times

 

FAITH

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I stared at him, disbelief and horror flooding through me all at once. “Excuse me?”

Jared smiled for the first time, as if he hadn’t just said something completely vile. “Should I repeat myself?”

I felt sick. “You’re joking… right?” I managed to say, though the look in his eyes told me this was anything but a joke.

“I assure you,” Jared said, “this is a very real offer. You do the task, get the money, and we all move on from this unfortunate incident. No lawsuits, no bills to pay.”

This guy thought he could just stroll in here, make some sleazy offer, and I’d fold?

Without thinking, I ripped the IV out of my arm, blood immediately dotting the bed sheets. “Who the hell do you think I am?” I shouted. “Just because I owe you some medical fees doesn’t mean you can talk down to me like this!”

Jared blinked in surprise for a moment, but remained calm overall.

“Sleep with your boss for 100 grand?” I continued, my fists shaking with the urge to punch the guy in front of me, but I didn’t need another lawsuit hanging over my head. “Do you hear how low and cheap you sound? You think you can buy people because you have money?”

I wanted to scream louder. My body was trembling with a mix of disgust and anger so intense I could barely breathe, while he remained infuriatingly composed and took a step closer.

“I am not here to argue with you,” he finally spoke again. “You are emotional right now, and I understand that. Just call me if you change your mind.”

With that, he pulled a sleek, black business card from his suit pocket and placed it on the table beside me. He didn’t bother waiting for a response, didn’t give me a chance to yell at him again. 

He turned and walked out of the room, as though this was all just regular business. Just how many people did his boss ask out like this? What a disgusting man! 

“God, I never want to have anything to do with these kinds of people.” If his boss wanted to pick up girls, why didn't he just go to a club or wherever hookers were available?

Did I look like a hooker to them from any angle?!

I stared at the door after Jared left, eventually my adrenaline cooling off.

“Were hookers actually paid that much usually?” I mumbled as I plopped on the bed. “If I had that kind of money, all of my problems would have been solved…” 

My eyes drifted to the card sitting there, almost taunting me.

My fingers itched, and I hated that part of me even considered looking at it, even thought for a second about what a hundred grand could do. 

The anger surged back up, stronger this time. I wasn’t going to let them buy me. I wasn’t going to sell my dignity for their sick games.

Swearing under my breath, I grabbed my necklace—the golden pendant my grandmother had given me before she passed. It was the one thing I had left of hers, but right now, it was all I could give. 

“Sorry about this, granny.” I unclasped it, the chain slipping through my fingers like it was saying goodbye.

Without looking back, I placed it on the bedside table, hoping it would cover at least some of the medical fees.

As I left the cabin, my head throbbed from the accident and my stomach ached from twisting anxiety. I barely noticed I had grabbed the card on my way out.

With a frustrated breath, I threw it in the nearest dustbin in the corridor and headed out of the clinic.

Once again, I started walking aimlessly. With everything that had happened in the past few hours, I felt like venting to someone.

Before I could stop myself, I pulled out my phone and dialed Austin’s number. I knew he didn’t like me calling him at this time. We’d talked about it a million times. 

But I needed him. I needed to hear his voice, to feel like someone was still on my side.

“Hi, babe,” I said, my voice wavering as I tried to keep it together. “Sorry, I know you told me not to call you at this time, but so many terrible things happened to me—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Austin cut me off, his tone flat, like he wasn’t really listening. “Good thing you called. I meant to call you myself.”

For a brief moment, hope flickered inside me. Maybe he was worried about me. Maybe he wanted to make things right between us. But just as quickly as that hope came, it shattered.

“Faith, let’s break up.”

His words hit me like a brick. I stopped walking, the world around me suddenly feeling colder. “W-What?” I stammered. “Austin, why? Why are you doing this?”

He sighed, and it wasn’t the kind of sigh that held any pain or hesitation. It was the kind of sigh you let out when crossing something off a checklist, like breaking up with me was just another errand he had to run. 

“I don’t know, Faith. I just don’t feel the sparks anymore. And I feel like we’re not putting in equal efforts. I mean, you are always busy with work and studies.”

“But I am trying, Austin. I really am. I even saved up a lot of money for your birthday.”

There was a brief silence on his end, and I clung to it, hoping that maybe—just maybe—he’d reconsider. “Really?” he finally said, sounding more surprised than anything else.

“Yes!” I responded, my voice trembling. “But… but then Ezra took it all away.” I felt a lump form in my throat as I mentioned my dad, but I was willing to bear all of it, hoping he’d see that I was trying. That I was fighting for us.

But instead of understanding, there was a long, heavy pause. And then came the words that crushed me.

“See, Faith. This is what I’m talking about. It’s always this and that with you. Your problems never end. I’m tired of it. I can’t do this anymore.”

The cold finality of his tone made my legs go weak. “Austin, please,” I begged, my voice barely a whisper now. “I can fix this. We can fix this.”

But he had already checked out. He was done with me. “Bye, Faith.”

And with that, the line went dead.

I stared at my phone, the screen darkening as the call ended. It felt like the ground had just been pulled out from under me. The tears that hadn't been spilling earlier came gushing out.

Everything was gone—my money, my hope, and now the one person I thought I could count on.

I was completely shattered.

And just when I thought that life probably couldn't get any worse for me, little did I know it was just the beginning of my downfall.

My phone rang again. 

I desperately checked it, hoping it was Austin—maybe he regretted it. However, I was disappointed to see it was my neighbor. 

“Faith? It’s Mrs. Thompson. I have been trying you for hours, but you weren't picking up,” her voice was scared on the other end. “You need to come home right away. It’s your mom. She… she fell down the stairs.”

My heart dropped. “What? Is she okay? Where is she?”

“She is at the hospital near home. You need to hurry,” Mrs. Thompson urged before hanging up.

I didn’t waste a second. I started running. I had no idea that I had jinxed myself by thinking I had nobody to count on. At least, I still had my mother, however she was.

When I burst into the hospital, the sterile smell hit me like a slap in the face for the second time today. 

“Where is Iris Adelaide?” I asked the receptionist breathlessly.

“Room 204,” she replied, glancing up briefly before returning to her paperwork.

I rushed down the corridor, my heart pounding in my ears. I pushed the door open, and the sight that met me froze me in place.

My mom lay on the hospital bed, pale and fragile, connected to a maze of machines. I rushed to her side, gripping her hand tightly. 

“What happened to her?” I asked the doctor who was standing on the other side of the bed. It didn't seem like she had a simple slip down the stairs.

“I am sorry to break this to you, Ms. Adelaide, but we have found out that your mother has acute liver failure.”

My breath caught in my throat. “What do you mean? How could this happen?”

The doctor continued, “She has probably known for a while but decided against getting any treatment. And now the only way for her to survive is to get a liver transplant.”

“A liver transplant?” I echoed, fear creeping into my voice. “How much will that cost? Will the insurance cover it?”

“You have to talk at the reception for that.”

I nodded, urgency propelling me forward as I bolted down the hallway. 

I burst into the reception area, my breath coming in frantic bursts. “Please,” I gasped, leaning over the counter, “I need to know what’s going on with my mom’s treatment. How much will it cost for the liver transplant?”

The receptionist’s fingers tapped over the keyboard as she pulled up the information. “It’s a complicated situation, Ms. Adelaide,” she began, and my anxiety skyrocketed as I prepared for the worst. “It's going to cost more than $350,000,” she said softly.

My heart plummeted, as if it had fallen into a dark abyss. “What?” I gasped, the room spinning around me like a whirlwind. “That’s impossible! We can’t afford that!”

The receptionist reached out, her hand brushing against mine as if to offer comfort. “I’m so sorry, but that’s the estimated cost for the procedure and associated care. The insurance might cover some of it, but you should prepare for a significant out-of-pocket expense.”

I felt like the walls were closing in on me. My mind raced, grasping for any solution, any possibility. “Is there any way to lower the cost? Can’t we negotiate with the hospital? Can we take a loan?” 

“I understand how difficult this is,” she said gently, but her eyes told me she had heard this story far too often. “Unfortunately, transplant costs are pretty standard. The only thing I can suggest is to look into financial assistance programs.”

“Financial assistance? What does that involve?”

The receptionist sighed, her expression sympathetic yet resigned. “It’s a lengthy process. You’d need to fill out forms, provide proof of income, and possibly go through an interview. But every little bit helps.”

I clenched my fists, trying to hold back the wave of despair threatening to swallow me whole. If only I had noticed my mom’s suffering from the beginning… I could have applied for this. But now, there was no time like that.

“Thank you,” I managed to say, though my voice felt hollow. I turned away, feeling lost, a sinking feeling settling in my stomach. 

My mom was all I had left. She had always done her best to provide for me, working long hours and sacrificing so much. She was even trying to get a divorce from Dad to escape his grasp. 

But no matter how hard she tried, Ezra was a leech with shady connections, and I hated that I was even considering him now, but I was desperate.

With my hands shaking, I pulled out my phone. The thought of calling him sent a chill down my spine, but I didn’t have a choice. My mom needed me to be strong, and I was running out of options.

“Hello?” Ezra’s voice was indifferent as always.

“Dad…” I said, trying to keep my voice steady despite the tremor that betrayed me. “I need your help. It’s about Mom.”

There was a pause on the other end before he asked, “What about her?”

“She’s in the hospital. She fell down the stairs, and now they discovered that she has acute liver failure. She needs a transplant, but it’s over $350,000, and I don’t know what to do!” 

I was expecting to hear something, anything hopeful for a change, but his laughter rang out. “Are you crazy? Where on earth are we supposed to get $350,000? You’d have to sell yourself for that.”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. I couldn’t believe he was laughing at my mom’s life, at my desperation.

But then a thought crept in, a flicker of something dark—something that I had scoffed at a few hours ago. What if I could sell myself? My body? 

As he hung up on me, I didn’t have time to dwell on the morality of my thoughts; I needed to act fast. Without thinking, I turned on my heel and dashed back to the private clinic.

My mind was a whirlwind as I headed straight for the trash bin in the corridor where I had discarded the card Jared had given me.

Kneeling down, I frantically sifted through the contents. “Please be here, please be here,” I muttered to myself, feeling the cold sweat trickle down my back. 

Just as my fingers grazed the edge of the card, a voice called out, pulling me from my frantic search.

“Looking for something like this?”

I looked over my shoulder to see a handsome man standing behind me with a replica of the black card that I was searching for. He had a bandage on his head, which made me realize this had to be Jared’s boss whose car I had come in front of.

“Uh… yeah,” I said and stood up, trying to regain some composure. I had to look strong, not too desperate. “I was looking for this. I actually needed to talk to you.”

He raised an eyebrow, curiosity flickering in his eyes. “And what exactly do you want to talk about? The accident?”

“No.” My heart was pounding, yet I kept my eyes on his green ones steady. “I want to take you up on that offer you sent me through Jared.”

“Are we talking about the same offer?” His lips curled into a smirk, clearly intrigued.

“Yes.” I took a deep breath and looked him directly into the eyes. “I will sleep with you.” I held up my hand, showing him the number of fingers as I added, “Four times.”