Playing The Risk - Book One in The WSU Series

- Chapter Twenty-Four-

Warning - Sensitive topic ahead.

"Mom?"

I reach out to hold her hand, "mom?" She opens her eyes and then tightens her grip, "I'll be okay." I feel a tear roll down my face, "I'm sorry I haven't been around." She shakes her head, "Ele, you have your own life. You're in college, you work at the bakery three times a week. You're eighteen, go live your life." I wipe my free hand across my cheek, "you'll be okay. We'll fix this— I'll get another job and then we can continue with the chemotherapy."

"I'm sorry I never told you that it got worse."

"Don't apologize to me. We'll be okay— you'll be okay."

My mom has been struggling for around two months now, it's getting worse we both know that. She's taken out loans so she could afford the treatment which is working but we don't have the money to keep it up especially now with all the money we've taken out. After selling the bakery my mom no longer works full time as the new owners have hired new employees. I begged my mom to spend the money she got from selling the bakery to go towards her treatment but being the stubborn woman she is, she refused and instead paid off my college intuition.

My mom is the strongest woman I have ever met.

"Now, how're my girls doing?" I smile, grateful to know how much she cares for my friends like how I care, "they are good— I'm meeting them at Starbucks in a bit." She nods looking around her living room, "so who is he?" She looks back at me, "huh?"

"The boy who has made you smile ten times brighter?"

"His name is Roma." My mom grins like a Cheshire Cat, "Roma? The boy I met at the bakery a month ago?" It's been two weeks since we've gotten back from the vacation. Two weeks since we've become boyfriend and girlfriend. "That's him."

"He's cute." I gasp, "mom!" She laughs for the first time in a while, "I'm happy that you're happy."

"Roma makes me so happy."

My feelings for Roma scare me. I know that I care for him so much but I've had boyfriends before, whom I've also cared for. In both of my past relationships I was happy and both times I've come out of it heartbroken. Have you ever had your heart broken? It's not fun. In my first relationship, we were young and naive, despite that I loved him and I think I always will. We broke up after he moved out of town, we tried long-distance, but in the end, we just couldn't keep it up. My second relationship was around two years ago, long story short he cheated. It's a shit feeling.

I think I'm just scared of getting hurt again.

Anyone who falls in love and then out of it will feel the same way, it's only natural.