Uncle Kelvin, I'm Your Nephew's Girlfriend

Julie went to the psychiatric center during lunch after class the next day.

Though she had no high hopes, Julie wished the universe would let her catch a break this time. She already had enough problems stacked on her plate. Taking a breather once in a while wouldn't be that bad, right?

However, expectations and reality don't always coincide.

When she walked to the nurse station, Julie ran into Erin's attending doctor, Doctor Cameron. Both immediately sighed when their eyes met and saw the exhaustion lingering in them. The doctor didn't have to say anything. Julie understood everything with just one look.

Doctor Cameron led her to his office, and the two sat with weary silence.

"She's pretty lively this time, isn't she?" she asked wryly.

Doctor Cameron gave her a sympathetic smile and nodded.

"Destructively so," he said and showed her the invoices.

"I see." Julie blinked her eyes away, biting her lip as she tried to hold it in.

Her body went cold when she saw the result of Erin's work piled in front of her. It was taller than the last time. Julie swallowed hard and went through the papers with trembling hands.

Erin's violent fits were catastrophic. All the numbers were making her dizzy. At this rate, even if Julie turned superhuman, she wouldn't be able to pay for all of it.

"I'm sorry about the trouble. I'll compensate everything as possible." The words felt crass like sand rolling off her tongue.

The doctor sincerely felt bad for her. Julie was still young but already had a world's worth of problems weighing down her shoulders.

"Would you like to consider transferring your mother to another facility? There are advanced treatment centers in J city for people with the same case as Erin's. The cost might be high, but they can provide better care which would be good for her," Doctor Cameron kindly advised.

Julie weighed it in her mind. Like he said, sending Erin to a better place might help. But the range of would-be costs scared her.

"How much will it cost, Doctor?" she nervously asked.

"Patients in severe cases like your mother need a lot of attention. At most, she'd have a personal escort assigned to her under a separate treatment program, which will cost around seven thousand dollars a month," he answered.

Julie froze and felt like having a heart attack. "Seven thousand, that's a lot..."

Doctor Cameron sighed. "Considering your mother's feat, you've paid us ten times more of that amount every month. I think reaching out to other treatment facilities would be good for you both. We're only a small center with limited staff. A good hospital would have more specialists that could attend to Erin's needs, so sit on it if you will."

Julie didn't know what to feel about hearing that. Doctor Cameron had helped her a great deal in the past, and she always felt grateful for his kind intentions. However, seven thousand dollars a month would be difficult for her to cover even if she scraped the bottom of the barrel this time.

She numbly sighed and nodded. "I'll think about it. Thank you, Doctor Cameron."

Julie left his office with a defeated smile and went to see Erin in the ward. She fought hard not to cry when she saw how poor her state was.

The nurses filled her in as to what happened. Erin had an extreme fit and broke the electronic door. She hurt a few staff members and almost caused a riot with the other patients, so the doctors had no choice but to tie her down to the bed.

Erin kept on wailing, struggling to break herself loose from the ties. And when her bloodshot eyes caught Julie, her hysterical fits got worse. It was as if she wanted to bite her daughter into pieces.

Seeing that, Julie felt heartbroken, but all she could do at that moment was to comfort her in a trembling voice, "Mom, stop it, listen to the doctor, okay?"

Erin hurled insults and glared at her menacingly. But Julie knew best not to react and ignored them. Besides, they weren't like words she hadn't heard before.

Julie hid her troubles behind a smile and said, "I will see you again on the 15th. If I save enough next month, I'll send you to the best hospital, so you don't have to suffer anymore."

Breathing a ragged sigh, she added, "And about Amy, you don't need to worry about her. Aunt is quite good to her. Every month, I sent her enough money for Amy's kindergarten fees and living exp—"

Yet before she could finish her sentence, Erin spat in her face, "Bitch."

Julie deeply closed her eyes and wiped the saliva off her face.

Erin's gaze was piercing with hatred, and it was apparent that she didn't even have an ounce of fondness for Julie.

And though mad, her voice was eerily calm. "Don't come to see me! Go to hell! Go and jump off the building!" she callously said.

Julie acted as if she hadn't heard her words and walked out of the ward after bidding her mother goodbye.

"I will see you again on the fifteenth."

She left the hospital in a daze and wandered around until she reached a park.

Julie walked to a bench and sat down, looking sullen. She suppressed a sob from coming out and tilted her head up, staring vacantly at the sky.

No matter what, she had to make Erin's transfer happen. If her arrangement remained as it was, she would only get sicker and continue to cause everyone trouble. Worse, she might end up hurting herself and others with her violent episodes.

Julie felt so lost right now. She sat still and watched the sky change colors as the sun went down, pondering how she could weasel out of this predicament.

She only had one choice left. Something she didn't want to fall back into but couldn't get away from it. The easiest way she could gather all the money she needed in a second.

Julie took out her phone and dug out 'Catherine's' number from her contacts. She hesitated for a few seconds but dialed it anyway.

After the call, Julie took a bus ride south of the city. She hopped on buses a couple more times along the way before she reached the doors of an inconspicuous nightclub, Feast.

Catherine was smoking in her office when Julie slowly opened the door on the verge of tears.

"What's wrong with you? Shouldn't you be busy spending Mr. Williams's money?" Catherine frowned.

Julie bit her lip with a shade of embarrassment. "It's over," she choked up.

Catherine sighed, "And here I thought you were blessed."

She opened her arms, motioning for Julie to come, and the girl didn't hesitate to accept her hug.

"Forget about it, he's a playboy anyway, and the time he spent with you was quite long for him." Catherine comforted her, but her worry for Julie was crystal on her face.

"However, I'm afraid you won't be as lucky as you were before this time. When you were with Mr. Williams, you were a virgin, and now that you've lost your virginity, I am afraid that you won't be able to fetch a high price," she solemnly added.

Catherine knew some stories about Julie, so when she saw her popping by in a trance, she felt sorry for her.

"I'll keep an eye on them for you. I won't let those unscrupulous men trample you," she said, tightening her arms around Julie.

Julie looked up with tears in her eyes and sweetly smiled at Catherine. "Thank you for helping me all this time, Catherine."

With Catherine's age, she could almost be Julie's mother. She looked at Julie's soft face and couldn't help rubbing her cheeks.

"You're so tender. How could Mr. Williams leave you?" She pitied.