My heart raced as I ran into the hospital, the ambulance sirens echoing in my ears. I froze, heart hammering as bloodied patients were wheeled frantically past me.
Was Mom one of the victims?
"Mom?" I called.
I ran to the nurses' desk. "Excuse me?"
One of them raised her head. "What can I do for you?"
"Mia Scott. I heard she was brought here. Where's she?"
I glanced around in panic, but I couldn't find her.
"Mia Scott," she repeated as she punched in letters.
"Aria?" a voice called and I turned.
"Mom!"
I ran to her and held her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
She squeezed a piece of paper in her hand quickly and shoved it in her pocket.
What was she hiding?
I glanced at the bandage wrapped around her head and slowly walked her to an empty bed.
"Mom, what happened?" I asked.
She winced when I touched the bandage. "I fell down the stairs."
"What?!"
She grabbed my shoulder, shaking me gently. "I heard the wedding got called off. What happened?"
I stared at her in shock. "H-how…How did you…"
It was the last thing I wanted her to know. I knew how heartbroken she'd be once she heard the news and I was biding the time until I told her.
"Lindsay told me," she said.
I sprang up from the bed, like I'd be stung. "What?"
"She sent me a picture of a monogram and claimed the baby was Drake." She grabbed my hand.
"What's going on, Aria?"
Mom had a history battling with high blood pressure. Any shocking news could send her over the edge. It was why I was looking for a perfect time to tell her the news.
I knew how happy she was picking out my wedding dress with me and I didn't want to break her heart or make her fall ill.
Lindsay knew about Mom's health condition, yet she still sent that picture. It was beyond appalling. What if she'd fainted from the shock or worse, died?
Oh, I was going to kill Lindsay.
I grabbed my hair and pulled, wondering how to gently break the news to her.
"Mom, it's—."
She gripped my hand tighter. "Is it true?"
Mom liked Lindsay; she always reminded me how lucky I was to have her in my life. I couldn't believe Lindsay did that to her.
There was no other way to say it. She already knew the truth. I sat beside her and held her hand.
"Yes."
"Oh." She gripped her chest as a tear fell.
"I'm sorry honey," she said.
"It's not your fault, Mom."
She shook her head, sobbing. "It's all my fault. I knew Melanie didn't approve of you because of your background and—."
I pulled her in a hug, not wanting to hear the end of that sentence. It was true, and I wasn't oblivious to that fact.
I saw the judgment in Melanie's eyes every time we got together to have brunch or to discuss the wedding. The way she sneered at Mom's outfits or when Mom ordered the least expensive meal in the menu.
I saw it all but I'd been willing to overlook it because I was in love with Drake. I didn't realize she'd noticed it too.
I pulled back from the hug and wiped her tears. "It's not your fault, Mom."
I chuckled, my eyes brimming with tears. "I'm so damn proud to be your daughter."
She pressed something into my hands and I glanced at it. It was a bankbook.
"It's the money I saved up for your wedding," she said.
"Mom, I—."
"Marriage is overrated these days. You should go out and have some fun and meet new boys."
I shook my head. "I don't want to---."
She gripped my arm. "It's my gift to you. Please take it."
The bankbook was squeezed and torn on all sides. It was where she saved money to pay for college.
I remember the promise I made to her after graduating college; to pay her back ten times what she'd done for me and to make sure she lived the rest of her life in luxury.
It was why I worked hard, so I could finally fulfill my promise to her. But four years had passed since graduating and I was nowhere near keeping that promise.
I hated myself for it. It was one of the rare times I hated being poor.
The machine beeped loudly as her eyes rolled back. I held her closer, holding her tight.
"Mom!"
Panic surged through me as she collapsed in my arms.
"Nurse!" I yelled.
I ran to the nurses' station quickly, tears obscuring my vision as I pointed towards her bed.
"Something's wrong with my mom," I said.
They pushed me aside, pulling the curtain around them for privacy as I fell to the ground. A hand held me up, lifting me gently and I turned to look at them.
"Damien?"
"Are you okay?" His eyes were filled with worry as he stared at me.
I pointed towards her bed, bawling. "Something's wrong with her."
He pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around me as I stained his shirt with my tears.
"She's gonna be fine, I promise."
How could he know that? He didn't see her face when she collapsed in my arms. She was dying!
He patted my back gently, pulling me impossibly closer.
"She'll be fine, Aria."
His words weren't enough to stop the tears or the ache in my heart. All I could think of was her face as she she fainted in my arms.
"Mom?" I called, pulling away from him when they put her out on a stretcher.
"What's going on?" I asked the nurses.
One of them held me back as I watched helplessly as they wheeled her away.
"She needs immediate surgery," the nurse said.
"What? What happened? She was fine and—."
"The doctor will tell you everything but right now, we need to save her."
My legs gave way as I fell to the floor, memories of Mom flitting through my mind. I had been so busy since graduating college. I'd left home to look for work and had not looked back since.
I remembered the conversation we had earlier. I should have sense that she was keeping something from me. I should have asked her what the doctor said. I should have been with her then.
"Aria," Damien called softly.
I shook my head frantically. "I can't lose her."
He fell to his knees and held me. "You won't."
I beat his chest, trying to pull away but he only brought me closer.
"She's the only family I have," I cried.
I wanted to pull out my hair, I wanted to gnash my teeth until I felt blood. Anything to distract me from the pain I felt.
"I should have been there for her. I should have known something was wrong. I should have—."
He pulled away and stared into my eyes. "It's not your fault. None of this is, okay?"
It didn't matter. All I knew was something was wrong with mom and that I could lose her. My chest heaved as I found it difficult to breathe. I gripped his suit, my knuckles turning white.
I couldn't lose Mom.
"I'm here, Aria. I'm right here," he soothed, pulling me close.
We stayed like that for what seemed like hours. My eyes were swollen from crying and I felt dehydrated.
"Want me to get you some water?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No."
My voice was hoarse and I cleared my throat. I glanced at the doors in front of us.
Surgery in progress.
She'd been there for hours and there was still no news about how she was doing. The doors opened and I sprang to my feet.
"How's she?" I asked.
"Are you her daughter?" the doctor asked.
I nodded, my heart missing a beat. He looked downfallen like he was about to deliver some bad news.
"Her blood pressure was extremely high which led to some swelling around the brain," he started.
Damien grabbed me before I hit the floor.
"We managed to reduced the swelling but…she's slipped into a coma."
The world spun around me as the ringing in my ears got louder. My mouth went dry, making it difficult to swallow.
"What?"
"I'm sorry."
I pushed Damien away and sat down. I couldn't believe it. She always too her medication and went in for regular checkups. It didn't make sense.
I saw Damien talking to the doctor, but their words were muffled. All I wanted to do was see her. Her beautiful brown eyes, the wrinkles around her eyes when she smiled.
I stood up when the doors opened again and they wheeled her out of surgery.
I followed the nurses, ignoring Damien's call to wait. I had to be there for her. A nurse stepped in front of me, her arms out.
"You can't go beyond here," she said.
"But she's my mom and---."
"I'm sorry." She swiped her card and I watched in silence as she walked into the ICU.
Mom was in a coma. The news of my wedding being called off had shot her blood pressure through the charts. Damien was right; it wasn't my fault.
It was Lindsay's. And Drake's. And Melanie's.
I watched as they attached different machines to Mom, feeling helpless that I could do nothing but stare.
They would pay. For putting Mom's life in danger, they would pay.
Damien came up to me. "I had a talk with the doctor and he said---."
"Let's do it," I said.
"What?"
I turned to him slowly, folding my fists as the anger surged through my veins.
"Yes, I'll marry you."