Their Forgotten Faces

When I woke up early the next morning, no one was beside my bed. Mom had already gone to make breakfast.

For some reason, my stomach hurt badly this morning.

I forced myself out of bed and went to wash up. While I was brushing my teeth, I kept gagging and retching. In the end, I threw up a mouthful of blood. I turned the tap on and rinsed it all away as I had done so often, and then I continued to brush my teeth.

I did not think much of it at first, but the pain in my stomach became unbearable after breakfast.

I was a little scared, but I asked Mom while still carrying a little hope, "Can you accompany me to the hospital with me this afternoon? I don't feel very well."

Mom agreed right away. "Of course."

Then, she asked with concern, "Rena, are you in pain? Should we go right now instead?"

I could feel the warmth in my heart.

"This afternoon is fine. I've got something to do this morning." The truth was, I had nothing to do. It was just that my doctor was not in the office that morning. Dad had also gone out with Zack, and he would not be back until the afternoon. I wanted the whole family to go with me.

Mom nodded and poured me a cup of hot water.

At noon, I secretly took some strong painkillers and took a short nap. But when I woke up, no one was home. It was already three o'clock. Where could they have gone?

I called Mom.

"Where are you? Weren't we supposed to go to the hos-"

"Rena, I'm sorry, but can you go by yourself? My son has a fever, so we can't go with you!" Before I could finish, Mom's rushed voice cut me off.

My heart sank, and I did not know what to say for a moment.

Mom spoke apologetically. "I'm really sorry, Rena. If it isn't urgent, can you wait a little longer? We can go with you tomorrow."

"It's fine," I said as I hung up.

Then I got dressed, walked out, and went to the hospital. All my movements were mechanical.

I still felt dazed even as I sat down in front of Dr. Smith, as if I had no idea how I had gotten there.

Dr. Smith looked over my test results, and his brow furrowed. "Rena, your condition is getting very serious now. Even if your parents are gone, you still need to take care of yourself. Do you have any other relatives?"

I lowered my eyes and let out a faint, mocking laugh. "Just tell me how much time I have left."

Dr. Smith looked at me with sympathy. "At most? One or two months..."

"Thank you," I said as I nodded and put away the test report. As I walked out of the hospital, snow was falling from the sky. By the time I got home, my hair was already covered with snow.

Mom ran over to me. "Rena, did you go to the hospital by yourself? Why didn't you wait for us?"

"I couldn't wait." I brushed past her expressionlessly and went back to my bedroom.

The three of them were left standing in the living room, staring at one another.

From that day on, I barely spoke to them.

Time started passing quickly.

Before I knew it, a month had gone by, and the contract was already over.

Zack awkwardly tossed a new contract at me. "Sign it. We'll play pretend with you for another two more months."

I did not even look at it. "It's fine. You can leave. I'll transfer your pay in a minute."

He stared at me in shock, frozen in place.

After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Seriously? You've been giving us an attitude ever since that day we didn't go to the hospital with you. What's there to be mad about? You..."

"The contract is over. There's no need to keep up with the act," I looked at him, my eyes void of any emotions. "Pack up. Take your parents and leave."

His face turned stormy.

After a long silence, he gathered his things and left with Mom and Dad. Before they left, Mom and Dad held my hands and cautioned me, "Don't hire people online again. What if you run into bad people?"

"You have our number. If anything happens, call us."

"Thank you," I said as I nodded politely and pulled my hand back. Mom and Dad sighed and then left.

After they were gone, I replied to Dr. Smith's message and told him I did not want to be hospitalized.

Then, I transferred all the money they had left me into Dad's account.

Note: [I'm giving it all back. We're no longer related from now on.]