Avelina was silent as Roxie immediately regretted her words. Avelina had married last year, but the thing was she and her husband had divorced on the day of their supposed wedding.
She had only met her husband once; as usual, her parents had planned the marriage. She did not even want to remember that night — and even more, they did not consummate the wedding because she got a divorce on her wedding night.
In fact, she did not want to talk about it. It was a secret wedding; only her family and Roxie knew about it, and no one dared to mention it because it had left a scar on Avelina.
"I'm sorry," Roxie immediately said. She knew how painful that had been for Avelina — even if the first time she had met that man was on the day of their wedding, the sudden divorce was painful after Avelina had given vows and signed a marriage contract with him. That scared her more than she could ever admit.
"I understand," Avelina spoke as she finished the last spoon of pasta.
"I fucking talk too much," Roxie hissed as she smacked her forehead. She knew that even though Avelina said this, she could still see the change on her face—like, who in their right senses gets married to someone and then divorces the same day?
"Stop that. Don't say that," Avelina spoke with a frown as Roxie shook her head.
"I am dumb for saying that when you are…" she paused and looked down. Avelina laughed as she stood; Roxie looked at her surprised —she was not mad at her, at least she was not looking down anymore.
Avelina walked to the sink and washed the plate calmly. She turned to Roxie, who still stared at her worriedly, just to see if she was okay.
"At least you finally realized after a long time that you are dumb," she said, and Roxie laughed. As Avelina cleaned the plate with a small smile, she walked back to take a glass of water and drink.
"I just knew you were looking for the best way to finish me back," Roxie said, and they both laughed.
"You did the right thing by saying that. You know that if you hadn't, I wouldn't have reasoned through my rash decision," Avelina spoke softly.
"In fact, I did not know that man until my wedding day, so why should I be pained? We just met on the day of our wedding, so the d… divor—" she paused as her phone began to ring.
She moved to pick up the phone while Roxie looked curious she answered the call.
The moment Avelina's face fell, Roxie stood immediately, worried.
Avelina's hands trembled slightly as she turned to Roxie.
"M—my sister. She collapsed," Avelina spoke, her heart racing; confusion rushed through her as Roxie quickly stood.
"Let's go. What are you waiting for?" Roxie's eyes moved to Avelina, who just stood there in shock.
"Don't tell me you want to trek there. Don't be silly, we'll take my car," Roxie said grabbing the key as Avelina nodded, snapping out of her thoughts. She followed Roxie as they walked out of the apartment with the car keys. After Roxie had locked the door, they moved hastily down the stairs and then to the parking lot. Avelina's head was just spinning; she had known her parents were not telling her something.
Her sister's sickness had worsened yesterday—her parents had surprisingly told her that her sister had gone to sleep early, which was unusual. Since the doctor had prescribed something, she wasn't too worried, but this morning she did not see her little sister. She had gone with their mother and father to the hospital, which surprised Avelina more than she cared to admit.
"Don't worry, Ave. We'll handle this."
She nodded with a small smile. Her friend was so good, she really was the best. Avelina entered the front seat of the car. She felt as if her world had halted when she heard that her sister had collapsed, just when her mother had gone to get her things while their father left to buy food.
Avelina's sister had a rare sickness — memory drift. Sometimes when she woke up, she forgets what happened for a few hours, or even for a whole day. It could be fixed, but their parents had no money for an operation, so they were doing the little they could.
The thing was, if it got delayed, the worse it would get. She made up her mind: she would have to pay for it. She had two more bundles of cash at home; the one here could do atleast that was what she hoped. But if it wasn't, she could sacrifice her exams fee…her sister's life was more important.
Roxie moved through the road swiftly as Ave's eyes widened at the speed. The swiftness of the car surprised her.
"Xie, slow down, please," she spoke, her heart leaping for the umpteenth time.
"Don't worry, Lina, I got this." She took a swift curve, and Avelina prayed she wouldn't get charged for overspeeding. This friend of hers took a lot of risks.
She didn't need to tell Xie where she was going since she already knew the hospital. She had visited her sister countless times, mostly to bring chocolates and other goodies.
The car finally slowed down, and Avelina breathed out. Xie swiftly took a U-turn and parked. Just as the car came to a stop, she unlocked it, and both of them got out quickly. They walked inside the hospital, where they met the receptionist. The lady looked at them with a smile.
"Hello, how may I help you?" she asked calmly.
Avelina's patience was running really thin. She didn't even know why this lady was so slow, but she tried to be calm. She needed to see her sister, but at the same time needed to wait.
"Avelina Smith and my friend Roxie Williams want to meet Ella Smith," she spoke quickly.
The woman nodded gently. Avelina tried her best not to snap—this woman was too sluggish. She tapped her foot rapidly on the floor, impatiently.
"A minute," the receptionist said as Ave managed a nod and tight smile. The lady slowly began dialing the number.
Avelina was already getting impatient when Xie finally snapped.
"Ma'am, respectfully, could you make haste? Her sister is sick and we need to see her," she spoke firmly.
The lady nodded as she pressed the telephone close to her ears her lashes flapping gently. "Hello… okay… very well then." She dropped the telephone and looked at Avelina and Roxie.
"You don't have to worry. Right now, she is having the operation in the VIP hospital room."
Ave was taken aback by her words. What VIP room? What operation? Last she checked, they were struggling to pay for the normal downstairs room. She looked confused, and Roxie noticed it.
The receptionist then added, "About the payment of your sister's hospital fee—it has been completed. And her operation fee as well," she said with a smile.
Avelina's confusion deepened. Her head was already spinning earlier, and now it seemed something was really wrong.
"The person who paid ordered to leave his name hidden."
Avelina's breath caught.