Chapter 5 - Chapter 5

"I'm married."Troy's smile faded.Cherry tightened her grip on her bag. She had hoped a polite refusal would be enough, but he had followed her to the university gates and asked again to drive her home."I should have told you sooner," she said.For a moment, he said nothing. Then he lowered his eyes."I didn't know.""I know."Her marriage to Gilbert was ending, but it had not ended yet. She did not want Troy to mistake her kindness for something she could offer him.Before either of them could say more, her phone rang.An unknown number appeared on the screen.Cherry hesitated, then answered."Hello?""Is this Miss Cherry Blaire?""Yes. Who is this?""I'm calling from Manila Medical Center. Your brother has been brought into our emergency room."Cherry stopped moving."Luke?""He was hit by a vehicle. He's in critical condition. Please come immediately."Her fingers tightened around the phone."Is he alive?""He's receiving treatment, Miss Blaire. We need you here as soon as possible."Cherry tried to speak, but no words came.Luke had returned home to Paco the day before. During their late-night call, he had said he was doing well.She had heard his voice only last night."Cherry?"Troy stepped closer.She looked at him, tears blurring her sight."My brother's been hit by a vehicle."His expression changed."Where is he?""Manila Medical Center." She caught his arm. "Please take me.""Come on."This time, she followed him without hesitation.During the drive, Cherry held her phone in both hands. She wanted to call the hospital again, to ask whether Luke had opened his eyes or spoken, but she was afraid of what they might say.He was sixteen. He attended Saint Mary Academy, a public school for students who needed special support.He also insisted on helping whenever he could. Sometimes he swept the plaza or worked at the wet market. Other times, he helped with gardening.Their neighbors knew him. They liked his manners, his hard work, and the smile he gave almost everyone.Cherry had warned him to be careful.Now she could not stop wondering where he had been going when the vehicle hit him.The moment Troy stopped outside the hospital, she hurried inside.Staff directed her to the emergency room. Through the window, she saw Luke lying unconscious on a stretcher.Bandages covered his head. Tubes and wires connected him to the equipment beside his bed, and the medical team moved around him.Cherry stopped at the glass."Luke."She pressed her palm against it.He did not move.Troy stood beside her, close enough to help if she needed him.When a doctor came out, Cherry turned at once."Are you his relative?""I'm his sister." Her voice shook. "Please save him.""We've started emergency treatment. He has a serious head injury, and we need further imaging, including a magnetic resonance imaging scan, to understand the damage."Cherry tried to follow his words."Is he going to wake up?"The doctor paused."Right now, your brother is in a coma. We'll monitor him closely over the next twenty-four hours. There's a serious risk of injury to his brain.""A coma?"Cherry looked back through the glass.Luke had told her he was fine. She had believed him and gone to sleep.Her knees weakened, and Troy caught her arm.The doctor waited while she steadied herself."There are also expenses you'll need to prepare for," he said. "The main procedures will be covered, but there may be charges for medicine and special treatment. The estimate is around forty to fifty thousand pesos."Cherry stared at him.She had barely ten thousand pesos in her account. That was money she had saved for Luke's school needs, transportation, meals, and medicine."How soon will I need it?""Please speak with the billing staff about the arrangements. For now, we're continuing his treatment."Cherry nodded, though her mind was already searching for anyone she could ask.Her mother would not have that kind of money. Cherry did not.But Luke was lying behind the glass, and she could not help him by standing there in fear."Please do whatever he needs," she said. "I'll find a way."The doctor returned to the emergency room.Cherry sat on a bench, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.Troy sat beside her. For a while, he let her watch the door in silence.Then he opened his wallet."Take this."Cherry looked at the bills he held out."Five thousand pesos," he said. "It's all I have left for the month."She shook her head."Troy, you need that.""Luke needs it now.""I can't take all your money.""Let me help."Cherry looked through the window again. Luke lay still while a nurse checked the equipment beside him.She slowly accepted the bills."Thank you. I'll pay you back.""You don't have to.""I will."Troy nodded."All right. And when Luke's better, you can have lunch with me.""Lunch?""As friends," he added. "I heard what you told me at the gates."Cherry looked at him. He was trying to give her something easier to think about, even for a moment.A small, tired laugh escaped her."You're easy to please."Troy smiled, then glanced toward the emergency room."Just stay with your brother."Farther down the hallway, Gilbert stood where he could see the bench.He had heard the doctor explain Luke's condition and the estimated expenses. He had also heard Cherry tell Troy she would repay him.Now she was holding five thousand pesos as carefully as though she was afraid to lose a single bill.The agreement had been signed. Gilbert had told himself that her problems would soon stop being his responsibility.But they were still married.And only days ago, he had told her she would not face a threat alone.He watched her fold the money and put it safely in her bag.She had accepted his decision to withdraw five million pesos and a condominium without demanding either. Now she did not know where to find enough money for her brother's treatment.That did not settle every question he had about her.It was becoming harder to make it fit the woman he thought she was.Gilbert stayed in the hallway.On the bench, Cherry looked up when Troy's phone rang.He stepped aside to answer, then returned with an apologetic expression."I have to go.""You've already done so much. Thank you.""Try to eat something. I'll check on you later."Cherry nodded.After he left, she called the restaurant where she worked."I'm sorry," she told her manager. "My brother's in the hospital. I can't come in for my shift.""What happened?"She explained as briefly as she could."Don't worry about work," he said. "Stay with him."Cherry closed her eyes."Thank you."When he offered to help with part of the expenses, she covered her mouth. She had expected to ask for time off, perhaps to beg him not to give her shifts to someone else.Instead, he was offering help."I'll pay it back," she said."We can talk about that later."After the call, Cherry sat quietly until she could trust her voice again.Then she called her mother.No answer.She tried a second time, then a third.By the fifth call, she lowered the phone.Her mother might be drinking or gambling. Cherry had found her that way before, after hours of unanswered calls.But she did not know where she was now.She sent a message telling her that Luke was in critical condition and asking her to call immediately.Then she looked toward the emergency room.Her mother could return the call later. Luke could not wait for Cherry to decide what to do.She opened her banking app and checked the balance, even though she already knew what it would show.Her savings, Troy's money, and whatever her manager could provide would help. She still needed to work out the rest.For a moment, she remembered the papers Liam had put in front of her.Five million pesos.She had not asked for it. Gilbert had withdrawn the offer before she signed.Thinking about it now would not change the amount in her account or help Luke.Cherry put her phone away.Her scholarship covered tuition, but every other expense depended on work. She studied during the day, worked at night, and used whatever time remained to look after her brother.She had always believed that if she kept going, she could build a safer life for them both.Now Luke was unconscious behind a door, and she needed help that another shift could not provide.She wiped her face and stood. She would speak to the billing staff, explain what she had, and ask what arrangements were possible.Before she could move, the emergency room doors opened.A nurse came out and looked toward the bench."Miss Blaire?""Yes.""Please come here."Cherry hurried toward her."What happened?"Before the nurse answered, a monitor alarm sounded inside the room.Cherry turned toward the window.A doctor moved quickly to Luke's bedside. Another called for equipment, and the nurses gathered around him."Luke?"Cherry stepped toward the door, but the nurse stopped her."Please wait outside. They need room to work.""What's happening to him?"Through the glass, Cherry could see only parts of her brother between the people surrounding his bed.The alarm continued.She tried to move closer, but the nurse kept her at the doorway."Please," Cherry said. "Tell me what happened."Footsteps approached behind her.Gilbert had left his place farther down the hallway. He stopped beside her and looked through the window.Cherry barely registered his presence. Her eyes stayed on Luke's bed.Only moments earlier, she had been trying to find enough money for his treatment.Now the medical team was rushing around him, and no one had answered her question.Cherry pressed her trembling hand against the glass."Luke, please."He did not move.