Stranded

Chapter 41: Erin

Rae's POV

My legs are getting weary from pacing back and forth but I didn't mind. No matter how fast I walk, they still couldn't beat my heart in a race. At the moment, my heart is throbbing very fast that it makes me wonder why it is still in place.

They are hours away from me. The time they're taking to get here long, making me very anxious. Doubts start to arise.

What if they got the wrong Catherine Kate Ford?

She should be the right Erin. As far as my research has informed me, she is the only seventeen year-old Catherine Kate Ford from Baltimore, Maryland who has leukemia. As soon as my parent's medical team were sure that she was really the Erin I was looking for, they transferred her to our hospital in New York at once, waited for her vital signs to stabilize, then put her on a jet to the UK, to us.

She has her grandmother with her, of course. Thankfully, I haven't met her yet. I don't think I could handle it for now. I have decided to wait for the rest before facing her.

Sadly, she is still unconscious. The doctor in charge of her told me that she lost consciousness and bumped her head hard that it bled. She barely had enough red blood cells then, and because of that accident, she lost blood. They are still observing her body's reaction to a lot of stuff until now.

I settled down to a chair and just sank, tears cascading down my cheeks. I was shaking like crazy as anxiety found my weakness and started coursing inside me, attacking me at my weakest. I wasn't ready for this shit. I knew this would be hard, but hell I didn't know it would be THIS hard.

What did I get myself into? I made a bargain with my mother to get Erin Ford to England in exchange of my freedom. I promised to take up a course related to medicine, which I despise. How could I take over the hospital if I'm really afraid of blood?

Perhaps I just decided too fast I forgot to think. I mean, is all these worth it? I am aware that I might be saving this Erin girl from death, but at the cost of my freedom, my happiness?

I caught myself up in jumbled yarn and I do not have the courage to step out. The situation is no jumbled yarn. It is static wire. Once I step out, someone would surely get hurt. A lot of people also caught up in this chaos would suffer the consequences for me, just because I saved myself.

Then I remembered Lorie, the kid who ran away from the orphanage we are helping a couple of days ago. She said she wanted to tell me something. I was just too busy to attend to her that I told her I'd listen next time. Wiping my tears away, I decided to pay her a visit.

I told the nurses lounging at the nearest nurses' station to direct the three girls to Lorie's room as soon as they arrive and then headed to where the little angel is. She was again connected to an IV and her hair was obviously starting to thin. The sight of her alone was enough to tug at my heartstrings. A poor kid does not deserve this.

"Hey." I waved at her as soon as she noticed me at the door. She gave me a grin although she was weak. The nurse attending to her smiled at me and then left. Mother Superior followed the nurse as well to give us privacy.

"How are you?" I asked, walking closer then settling at a chair beside her bed. She gave me a thumbs up. "I'm better."

I smiled at her answer. Every time I visit her after a chemotherapy session, I would ask her how she is and she would always tell the same thing. I'm better. A little kid with cancer was able to say this countless times but I couldn't.

She reached for my face all of a sudden and touched the part of my forehead where my eyebrows met, exactly on the furrow. After that, her fingers went to my cheeks, where she literally tugged my lips for a smile with all her strength.

I forced myself to smile for her efforts not to be wasted. Per usual, she pointed at the bookshelf that was set up for cancer-afflicted kids like her, motioning me to get her favorite book and read it to her.

"I am Sam. I love green eggs and h-" I was interrupted by a knock at the door whilst I was in the middle of reading the seventh book since we've started. It must have been five hours or so. Lorie is still up, since she had a fifteen-hour rest before I arrived at her room. I looked at the door and saw Angel's familiar smile. With her is Lea and a girl with long curly black hair. Liz.

My heart did a back flip at the sigh of her. Fortunately, I managed to speak and tell them to enter.

We had a long awkward conversation, which was mainly about Liz and Erin. Of course, we had to explain a few things to Liz as we went on. Lorie, on the other hand, was listening intently to us, but I do not mind. I trust her.

"So Erin..." Liz's voice trailed off. Angel and Lea looked at me as if waiting for me to give them all the details about Erin.

"I'm not sure if they got the Erin we need, to be honest." I fessed up, rather nervous. Before Lea could even send me a death glare, I saved myself. "But I've seen her picture. She looks just like the Erin we are looking for."

Liz looked at me, intrigued, yet still coy. "Why haven't you seen her yet?" She asked the bowed her head down in embarrassment.

"I decided to wait for you." It was half a lie. "We could go now, if you want." I blurted out without even thinking twice.

"Wait." Lorie pointed at a bag labeled with the Toys-R-Us logo. I picked it up from the foot of her bed, confused. "You need to see that."

Slowly, I opened the package and found signed dolls of Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson inside.

Erin's POV

For the billionth time, I attempted to move my numb, useless hands again, but I literally couldn't lift a finger even with all my strength. I could not open my eyes, as well, but the ceiling above me is so bright that my eyes hurt. My surroundings smell strongly of medicine and I could hear a faint beeping from a familiar device with my poor hearing, making me realize that I, once again, am in a hospital.

"Her vital signs are better." A female voice with a thick British accent said. As far as I can remember my doctor has a funny Southern accent I love. Has Ellie found a "better doctor"?

And why am I in the hospital again? What happened this time?

And have we been rescued?

"Thank you, Dr. Grint." A faint voice of a teenage girl replied. What? Who am I with?

I felt hot tears drip on my left hand. I can feel! But whose tears are these?

"Thank you for helping my granddaughter, young lady." I felt relieved. Ellie is here, after all. It must be her who is crying beside me. "What's your name again?"

"Rae, ma'am. My name is Rae Cavanagh."
Rae.

Rae.

Rae.

We have been rescued!

"I'll leave you, now. You'll keep your eyes on my Erin, right?" I felt my bed rise and heard slow light footsteps tap away from me. Then I heard a chorus of barely audible sighs.

"She's lucky." A voice croaked. If I am not mistaken, it's Lea.

"Why do you say so?" Asked Rae.

"Because she doesn't know that everything is a dream yet."

What?

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HAPPY NEW YEAR GOIS!

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May your 2015 slay! :)

-Shelly