Rags to Riches

Chap 14 "Giving Up Music"

Lorie's POV

I woke up and I was in pain. I looked over and I noticed the morphine drip connected to me. "What happened?" I asked.

"You were shot," Dad grabbed my hand. "Rose is currently in the hospital daycare. Jay is taking this pretty hard on himself." I looked at Dad. "He feels like this is his fault."

"Someone was trying to kill me," I stated. "He blames himself for not being there for me."

"You're awake," Conner walked in. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll live," I nodded.

"Okay. That's good. So, we did get both bullets out," Conner replied. "As your doctor, I recommend you don't perform for six weeks."

"We won't have to warry about that," I sighed.

"However, I am pleased to announce that you were my first patient in my hybrid OR,"
Conner stated.

"How'd you get the funding for it?" I asked.

"I assumed you were my anonymous donor," Conner looked at me.

"No, Conner," I stated. "I told you I won't have the check cut till next month." He looked at me. "As much as I wanna take credit, I didn't fund your OR."

"Ava," Conner left.

"Well, Dad, did you enjoy your time as my
manager and agent?" I asked.

"I do," Dad stated.

"Well, you're fired," I stated. Dad was taken back a bit. "What?"

"Can I ask why?" Dad asked.

"I'm no longer pursuing music," I replied.

"'Are you sure?" Dad asked. "It's not an easy thing to get back into."

"I'm sure," I nodded. "Once I get out, I'm going to go public about my decision." The day of discharge came. Jay walked into my room. "Hey. I've missed that handsome face of yours."

"You're a bitch!" Ava came into my room.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"You told conner I slept with his dad for that funding," Ava stated.

"Those words never came at of my mouth, and I didn't know you seduced his dad for that money," I looked at her. "All I told him was the funding didn't come from me." She looked at me. "Conner came to me with his proposal. I loved his idea. I was going to fund his OR for him."

"What?" Ava asked.

"Now, you costed the hospital money because the hospital matched what he donated," I looked at Ava. "I was going to fund it completely. Now, how he knew about you and his dad, I don't know, but he did come to that conclusion on his own."

"Hey, glad you haven't left yet," Maggie walked up to us. "There's a ton of press outside."

"We'll face them," I stated. Jay walked outside with me. "This is more than usual."

"Lorie, did they arrest your attacker?" a reporter asked.

"Is this going to change how you handle your tours?" another asked.

"If we can all get quiet, I can explain," I sighed.

"It got really quiet," Jay stated.

"The unit I'm a part of did arrest the guy who shot me. I asked not to know who he is," I replied. "This event won't change how I handle my tours because I'm no longer going to be a cover artist." Gasps were heard. "That doesn't mean I'm going to stop being an influencer. I'm going to use the time to raise my daughter and grow with my husband as a family."

"What drove you to this decision?" a reporter asked.

"I wanna try to be there for my daughter. Growing up, I only had my dad. I watched him work 2 to 3 jobs to provide for me. Especially my senior year in high school," I explained. "He put me through college with those jobs. I was married once before, but when that didn't work, I set out on a new path." Jay held my hand. "From rags to riches, is what people from home called it. If I could make it on my own, I knew I'd be okay. I'm able to provide for my family and that's all I really wanted."

"Any idea what you're gonna do now?" a reporter asked.

"I'm still an officer with CPD. That's where I'll be," I stated. "I can still do something to better this world for my daughter."

A/N: that's the end of this story. Hope you guys enjoyed. New stories soon. Happy Reading! Xoxo ~Alexis