"What do you mean, you don't know what's wrong with her?!" Helen did not hesitate to take her mother into the neighbouring town - a mining town called Annesburg.
It would have been her last choice of aid, but it was the closest town. Unfortunately, her doubts about Annesburg were not in vain. The doctor sighed, glancing down at Helen's mother, who was sitting in the chair.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have the proper equipment to diagnose her," the doctor replied honestly. Helen scoffed in shock, her rage boiling in her veins. "Then how the hell are you supposed to take care of an entire town?!" she demanded, her fists clenched.
The doctor glared at the young teenager in annoyance. "Listen, little girl, this isn't the richest town in America. Half these people are diseased and can't receive the proper medicine, the other half die from alcohol poisoning. I can only do so much with what I have."
Helen held the doctor's glare for a few long, agonizing moments until her mother's coughing distracted her. The doctor moved away towards his cabinet with a sigh.
"I can give you basic antibiotics for her cough and fever," he said simply. Helen remained silent, her lips pursed in a thin line as he handed her a bottle or two.
~~~~
"I can't believe the medicine was so expensive!" Helen grumbled once they returned home. Her mother sat down in an armchair with a huff, and she leaned back as she closed her eyes.
"Why do you think we live in the wilderness, sweetheart? We don't need to buy our food, or cheese or milk...so it lightens our load," she said breathlessly.
Helen threw her coat to the ground angrily; "But it's ridiculous! How are we supposed to take care of ourselves if we can't even afford the proper supplies?!" she continued incredulously.
Her mother suddenly coughed again, which compelled Helen to fetch her a glass of water. When she returned, her mother let out a humourless laugh. "The world...is cruel, Helen. Not everyone is fit to live with...the changing times, and many people struggle...like Annesburg," her mother said slowly.
Helen shook her head, turning away as her mother drank her water. Her father had abandoned them for his 'other life', as her mother put it. If he was able to flourish, to benefit from other people's misery, then Helen knew what she had to do.
"Don't worry, Mother...I'll take care of you as best as I can."
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Family in Shambles
FanfictionShe had been going it alone for three years, since her mother had passed away. She had been learning to survive and doing what she NEEDED to do to survive, no matter the consequences. She knew how to lie low and hide from the law, and she became a v...
