Playing with hearts

Chapter 1:

Rachel stared at her fathers closed eyes, his breathing was uneven. Taking his fragile hand in hers she prayed to God. Sobbing furiously, she prayed for her father to smile at her once again. Talk to her, tease her. Just like he did before.

The ringing of telephone made her walk out into the living room. Placing the receiver between her shoulder and ear, she greeted the caller with fake enthusiasm.

'Hello?'

The other end was silent. And after shuffling a bit Rachel heard a voice that she came to loath after the past few years. Her mother.

'How are you Rachel?' Diana inquired.

It broke Rachel's heart to see that every month her mother called, asking for her well being but never once did she inquire about her husband. Or ex-husband.
Biting her lower lip, Rachel inhaled sharply.

"I'm fine, so is dad. What about Marcus?" She asked non committed.

"Rachel, if you need mone-" Rachel's breath hitched and she cut in her mother before she could finish.

"Mom, dad is calling me." She lied and quickly placed the receiver.

For Rachel money never mattered. But what she feared now was that the way her mother week after week offered her money, one day her restrain would break and she would accept the money -charity- offered by her new wealthy husband. All Rachel knew was that even if she accepted the money, it would be for her father. For his treatment.

And she knew all too well that the moment her father would get to know about it. He would never forgive her. After what her mother did to them, he hated her with passion.

The crumpling of sheets brought her back from the frenzy of her thoughts to the situation at hand. Composing her self and clearing off the few astray tears that escaped her eyes, she walked up to her fathers room.

"Was it Diana?" Her father asked weakly, the moment she entered the room.

She was about to deny and lie about telephone service calling when her father smiled bitterly. " did she offer you money?",

Her thin lips cracked as she smiled bitterly and nodded.

George knew  that if he never got his treatment, the bed he's lying on would be his death bed. But he could never degrade himself to  accept the money from a whore. That was against his rules and George was a man of rules.

Holding her dads wrinkled hand in her soft ones, Rachel snuggled deep in to him.

" no matter what happens Rachel, never forget what she did to us." George muttered and closed his eyes.

Rachel knew that her father was right. But she already had forgiven her mother long ago. Now when she thought about her mother she felt nothing. No rage. no hatred. It was just emptiness.

" you told me yesterday that you were applying for a job?" Her fathers chest grumbled with every word he spoke.

" I have an interview tomorrow- and if I get the job it would be sufficient for the bills to be payed." Rachel lied. The bills were of enormous amount.

After hours of talking to her father, she left him to rest as she quietly walked out of the door. Carefully closing it behind before she went up to iron her clothes for the interview.

The interview mattered a lot. She decided she could even beg for the job being offered.

She knew that No one wanted a 22 year old rookie  for any of the job.