My Father Didn't Know I Had Cancer Until I Died

When I stepped out of the house, I didn’t even have an umbrella with me. The rain soaked me to the bone as I walked aimlessly down the streets. Eventually, I flagged down a taxi, though I couldn’t stop coughing the entire ride. The metallic taste of blood lingered in my mouth, overwhelming me.

For my 18th birthday, my mother had bought me an apartment by the river. That’s where I told the driver to take me. When we arrived at the building, I fumbled through my pockets, searching for money to pay the fare. That’s when I realized that all my bank accounts had been frozen.  I should’ve known. My father must’ve cut my funds off the moment I stepped out of the house, planning for me to learn my lesson the hard way.

“I’m sorry,” I told the driver, panicking. “I can’t pay right now…”

The driver frowned, his patience running thin. “If you can’t pay, I’m calling the cops.”

“Wait, please!” In panic, I dug through my pockets and found fifty bucks. It was all I had left and more than half of it went to the taxi fare. It left me with barely anything.

The cold wind hit me the second I stepped out of the car. Shivering from the cold, I stumbled toward the gate of the apartment complex. I had to ask the security guard to open the gate for me since I had left in such a hurry. However, the guard lowered his hand after asking me for the apartment number and preparing to open the gate. Seeing me shivering in the cold, the guard felt a little sorry for me.

“I’m sorry, Miss Murdoch,” he said, “but the owner of this unit called earlier. They gave strict instructions not to let anyone in.”

Owner? The owner should’ve been my mother. What is he talking about?

“It was my dad, wasn’t it? The one who gave you the call,” I said, my voice shaky. “That apartment was bought by my mother for me. He can’t stop me from entering my own house.”

“Now let me in, or I’m calling your manager!”

Hearing my threat, the guard’s face turned anxious. He hurried to his post to grab an umbrella while explaining to me.

“It’s not that I don’t want to help you, Miss Murdoch. But after your mother’s passing, the apartment went to Mr. Murdoch. So technically, he’s the owner. And, frankly, it was his money that purchased the apartment in the first place, wasn’t it?”

His words trailed off as he noticed the disbelief on my face. I could see the pity in his expression, but all I felt was a bitter laugh bubbling up inside me. Even strangers could see how wrong this situation was, yet it was my own father pulling the strings.

“Please don’t make this hard for me, Miss Murdoch,” he added softly. “I have a family to support. My dad is sick and I just have a baby. I can’t lose—”

I didn’t hear the rest of his words. The world seemed to hum around me, the rain mingling with my tears. I stood there, drenched and alone. Perhaps because he felt sorry for me, he reached out and handed me the umbrella.

Just then, a car pulled up to the gate. It was dark and its headlights shone right into my face, blinding me for a moment. Then I started to get dizzy, either from the light or the rain. I squinted, trying to make out who it was.

A familiar figure stepped out of the car—Hayden Cox. He was the son of one of my mother’s best friends. I remembered my mother joked with Hayden’s mother that they agreed to marry me off to him. Despising the idea, I smeared mud from my pocket onto his back when he hugged me. He freaked out when he saw the mud stain on my hand and his clothes. Before leaving, he shouted, swearing that he wouldn’t hug me ever again. It was supposed to be a joke, but after that incident, the betrothal between us was called off.

“Valerie? Why are you standing here soaking wet? Aren’t you going to come in?” he asked as soon as he realized it was me. “And what happened to your hand? Why is it all bloody?” he asked, his voice full of concern.

I looked down at my hand. I’d forgotten about the cut from the glass shards and now the blood had dried into a dark scab. Hayden’s kindness warmed my heart and for the first time that day, I felt like crying. My tears spilled uncontrollably. He rushed over, wiping them away.

“Hayden, I…” I tried to speak, but a cough racked my body. Blood splattered onto the ground as I collapsed, unable to stop myself from falling. The last thing I saw before my vision blurred was Hayden’s face turning white with fear. His crisp white shirt was speckled with my blood. My vision went dark and Hayden’s panicked voice was the last thing I heard.

“Valerie, stay with me! Don’t close your eyes! Somebody call an ambulance, now!”

As I lay there, slipping in and out of consciousness, I couldn’t help but think, He’s going to hate me again. He’s a clean freak.