Engaged to a Jerkface...and I have no say in it!, Icicles [read books for money .TXT] 📗

the middle mirror of the car. I watched it flip up and down as the car jerked, trying keep my thoughts occupied as we reached closer and closer to the hospital. My breath quickened.

Much to fast, Cole stopped the car in the parking lot and quickly unlocked the doors. I snapped my seatbelt off and literally flew through the rotating doors. The bell jingled as I stepped into the building. The smell of sickly cleanness in the air seeped in.

I walked quickly up to the front desk, where a pre-occupied middle-aged lady was unconsciously running her hand through her fake blond hair. She looked up as I approached the desk.

“Hello, how may I help you?” She asked in a honey-dripping, sugary voice.

“Hi, my name is Victoria Cormela. I’m looking for Stacy Cormela, my mother.” I stated fast. She moved her wheelie chair to a cabinet full of files.

“Carte, Cass, Cassandra, Crème, and—ah…Cormela. Yes, Cormela, room 47b. That’s upstairs sweetie!” Ugh, I should start calling her the sugar lady. I remembered my manners.

“Thanks for your help!” She nodded as I rushed towards the elevators. Then I remembered—Cole. I looked back and saw him standing outside the glass door. He waved a reassuring hand and I mouthed ‘thank-you’. He motioned that he would be waiting outside until I came out. I nodded as the elevator door dinged.

An elderly couple stepped out and I smiled sweetly at them. The man (more like Grandpa) elbowed the woman (Grandma) very lightly and said, “Ain’t she lovely. Reminds me of you.” The Grandma just smiled and replied, “Yep, she’s just darling.” She winked at me and I grinned back. They limped away happily as I entered the elevator. Ah, elderly. You gotta love ‘em!

I stepped out, onto the 2nd floor above the lobby. Nice-looking nurses smiled at me in their blue coat/blue hairnet duo. Some smiled reassuringly, while others smiled with passion. Bless them, good-natured nurses.

I took two turns to the right and another to the left. It was like a crazy maze and I was out of breath when I reached 47b. I looked at those black letters for a while before regaining my composure. Breath in, breath out. Breath in, breath out. Ready or not, here I come, I thought as I knocked gently on the pale white door.

Three…

Two…

One…

The knob turned slowly and I stepped inside.
Chapter Eight

I gasped. My mother was completely covered in thick white blankets. Only her head was uncovered. She looked tiny and vulnerable in the huge white bed. I dreaded to see what was underneath those covers. She looked sickly pale under the florescent lighting. Lots of tubes were connected from the machine to underneath the blankets. A monitor was measuring her heartbeat.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The nurse who had opened the door for me was standing in the corner, shadowed by the drapes. She smiled pitifully at me.

“Darling, you must be Stacy’s daughter. Come,” She dragged a small wooden chair over and patted the seat, “Sit…now what’s your name, sweetie?”

I smiled sincerely at her, “My name’s Tori. Could you possibly answer a few of my questions?” She checked her watch.

“Yes, I could answer for a few more minutes. What is it you wish to be answered?” She stared at me through her ice-blue eyes and re-adjusted her blue hairnet.

“Well…do you know what exactly happened to my mother?” She looked thoughtfully up into the air, then back at me.

“According to the police, some drunk teenager rammed his truck into her car. On the highway.”

Anger boiled inside me. My mother was going to die because some stupid teen was careless enough to drink and drive? I bit my tough to keep from lashing out at this kind nurse. “What rotten luck.” She sympathetically put her hand on my shoulder and we stayed silent for a few minutes.

“Well, I have to go now. Duty calls. Don’t lose hope! She still has time…don’t think about the future before it happens!” She waved her gloved hand as she backed out of the room, leaving the loneliness to drift in. I reached under the blankets and grasped my unconscious mom’s hand. It was frigid cold. I tried warming it up by enveloping it in my own.

She stirred and I nearly jumped out of my pants. She slowly turned her head to face me. I gently stroked her face. She looked as fragile as a porcelain doll. She started to speak, but stopped, cleared her throat then said, “Hi Honey…I—”

“Shhh…mom, you’ll need the strength later. What happened out there?”

She paused, closing her eyes for a moment. She took a deep breath, then started, her eyes still closed, “I was going home from the conference and all I could think of was you. Your image was just fixed into my mind. Tori, darling, I’m so sorry I sold you to them! I was so angry at myself and…I’m just so sorry, I—” I put my fingers to her blue lips to stop the rambling.

“Mom, it’s ok. I forgive you. Keep on going.”

“I was turning onto the highway, when a huge, red truck swerved and…I didn’t see it hit me, but I felt the vibration…and I felt the car sliding from the impact…and…” She stopped, as if to relieve the moment, “I saw stars. They were pretty like you. They were all glittery and bright and in my mind I saw you again. But you were happy…smiling and laughing. You looked so beautiful and grown-up…” She smiled in awe as she glimpsed an unseen image. She looked like a little girl getting a teddy bear for the first time. I grasped her small, fragile fingers tightly, my voice clogged in my throat. She opened her eyes and gently brought her other hand up to my face and brushed it. It was like tiny feathers rubbing against my face. I looked into her unreadable face. We stood like this for some time.

At last, the monitor’s loud beeping awoke us to our senses. I looked at the clock on the pale wall. I had already been here for an hour! My mind swerved to Cole…but I didn’t want to leave. Mom looked at me with her beautiful green eyes and nodded knowingly, “I can see you need to leave. Don’t worry, I promise I’ll stand firm and fight. Darling, before you know it, I’ll be out of here! We’ll be knitting scarves and making booties, just like we used to! Just promise you’ll wait for me.”

I looked straight at her, memorizing every tiny strand of hair and every faded wrinkle, “I promise. Just don’t leave.” She held out her pinky and I hooked it with my own.

“Promise.”

“Promise.” We shook our pinkies and let go. She grinned at me and winked. She was already starting to glow again, her paleness fading.

I waved one last time and slowly backed out of the door, still watching her face. She mustered a small wave as a tiny tear rolled down her cheek. Finally the door shut, her image erased from my view. But in my heart, I knew she’d make it. She was strong and never broke any of our pinky promises. Ever.

Chapter Nine

I walked to the elevators slowly. Since I visited my mother, I wasn’t in much of a hurry. More like, in deep thought. I honestly knew she’d get better…but what if she didn’t? What would my life be like without parents? I was already fatherless. Would God be cruel enough to make me motherless too? I hope not. Soon, I’d be 18, a legal adult, be married to oh-so-preppy Jake, and officially moved into our mansion. God, my life looked like heaven compared to a hobo, but to me, I’d rather have the hobo life than mine right now. I smiled at the irony of it all.

The elevator dinged and opened. Inside I found Jake, his blond hair tousled from the wind and his shirt unbuttoned. Can he try any harder? I rolled my eyes mentally.

“What do you want Jake?” I asked firmly. How the heck did he find me? Oh yeah, I told him. Sorry, blonde moment (even though I have hair the color of a raven’s).

“Tori,” He took a moment to smooth his wind-swept hair, “I’m sorry. That was completely irresponsible of me and I’m very sorry. Your mother was close to death and I was in that room with…with—” He broke off for a moment.

I simply stared at him unforgivingly. Gods know he’s going to have to try harder than that to earn back my trust. “Are you done?” He looked up startled. He nodded slightly, side-stepping out of the elevator. “Good, because I rarely forgive…and I never ever forget.” I stepped in before he could block the way and shut the door before he would follow me.

I felt the air move as the elevator went down to the lobby. It dinged and swished open. I walked through the rotating doors and saw Cole sitting in his van with ear buds in, listening to my I-pod. I stroll up to the van and gently knock on the windshield. He looks up and grins, holding up my I-pod, which he was using without permission. I tried to stifle my laugh, but failed as he unlocked the doors. I climbed in, grabbed my I-pod back and slammed the door shut as he started the engine. It roared to life and we took off.

“So…how was your mom?” Cole asked softly, not taking his eyes off the road. I smiled and he gave a sideways glance at me.

“Perfect. Drunk kid whammed into her car, but she’s healing.”

“That’s good.” There were a few moments of silence, but it wasn’t the uncomfortable type, more like we were both deep in our thoughts.

My mother…her beautiful chocolate brown hair, deep gray eyes with a twinkle of laughter, and her lips quirked into an easy smile. Her hair fanned out around her as she flew. Soaring in the sky, laughter bubbling up, and eyes wide open taking in the excitement. Her beside me,