Player boy, No more?

Chapter 7 - Pre Op confessions

His whisky breath was against her neck and she felt those rough hands roam around her body. She wanted to scream or throw up, maybe both, but somehow, she knew she couldn't.

She was feeling suffocated and alone, bawling her eyes out in the dark room. But somehow in the middle of the mess she found her voice and screamed to the top of her lungs.

"AHHHHHHH"

2 seconds later her mom entered her mom and found a scared Yue sitting on the edge of her bed, drenched in sweat.

"It was that nightmare again?"

Yue only nodded

"I'm sorry, YueYue" Her mom said, sitting next to her. "I thought you said you weren't having those dreams anymore"

"I really wasn't but, yesterday I told Mei about Dylan, then the memories just came in like a hurricane..."

"We cannot run from our past, my baby girl. It happened and it was all too real but, it doesn't have to dictate how you react to things now"

Yue looked at her mom in defeat and rested her head in her shoulder.

"I know, Ma... and seeing Dylan again has reminded me that my past wasn't all bad stuff"

"See, there's also good in the world" her mom replied kissing her head. "Now tell me, when is his surgery?"

"Tomorrow at 11am"

"Then you should be resting, young lady! Stay here, I'll get you a cup of tea, so you can sleep well"

Then, her mom left for the kitchen humming a song. Yue smiled, thankful for their mother-daughter bond.

Her mom had gotten so much stronger in these past years. They both did.

It hadn't been easy for them. In the first 6 months after they left for their aunt's place, it was all about work, work and some more work. At night, they would both have dinner and talk about their days, then, her mom would go to sleep and Yue would study to pass the medical school admittance exam.

There were nights where she could barely keep her eyes open, but she pushed through. And a few weeks later the reward came, and Yue couldn't believe when she got the acceptance letter.

Then, when she went to Shanghai for the admittance interview, she got a bigger surprise: an anonymous donor had paid for all her tuition fees plus her accommodation at the dorms. They wouldn't tell her who it was but, they said the person had requested to see all her report cards every semester to keep track of her results.

So, Yue decided she was going to work harder than everyone else to pay back that person, regardless of who it was. She would to visit her mom only once every 2-3 months so she could focus. And, at every visit she saw that her mom's joyful spirit and smile had returned for good. So, she kept pushing to make her mom proud.

It was no picnic and she was constantly exhausted and drained. But, when she got her surgeon degree 1 year earlier and began her orthopedic residency at 22 as the first of her class, she realized her efforts had paid off.

Her mom returned to the room with the cup of tea and pulled her out of her own memories.

"Here you go. Now, drink all of it so you can be in shape for the surgery tomorrow"

"Thanks, Ma. I'll do my best"

Her mom was leaving the room when she stopped and turned back at Yue

"You know, I always thought you'd eventually find your way back to each other someday... maybe fate decided to give a little help when he got injured..."