Chapter 177 - Heart Failure

Seeing that they were a few feet away from her and that they were both engrossed at each other, Cherry stood up, picked up her things, and walked away. She took her exit at the other door before Miss Grace would find out that she was gone. 

She went up to her room again, and her heart was in a mess. Her thoughts were on her and on what she said. She could not believe her ears, her mother missed her! And she knew it was not a drama. But why was she hardened and unwilling to face her yet? Why was it more comfortable to forgive Andrew than her mom? 

Pressed with guilt about her stubbornness, she lied down on her bed and lost herself into her thoughts. She hated herself for feeling this way. She knew that forgiveness was the only way to set her mind and heart free. She knew that giving up the load would give her peace of mind, but her sense of humiliation was too heavy.

For the first time in six years, she wondered how her mom was faring all this time. How did she survive against the people's whispers behind her back? How did she survive against the people's unspoken confrontation for being so irresponsible as a mother in watching over her daughter? Friends may not get the courage to confront her, but she knew her family did. And that was, she guessed, more painful. That was, she imagined, more demeaning because her own family was surely showing it to her mother's face how irresponsible she was.

She picked up her phone to send Grace a message to move their meeting to another day. She was no longer in the mood to talk about designs. Yet before she got into the messaging, her phone vibrated and as expected, it was Miss Veraces.

"Miss Che, I am so sorry. My friend got emotional, and I was carried away. When I turned to look at you before I led her to another table, you were already nowhere."

Cherry felt relieved, and out of curiosity, she asked, "How's your friend, Miss Grace?"

"She's asleep now after the doctor gave her a strong pain reliever."

Cherry's eyes widened in shock, and she sprang up to her feet."What did you say?"

"Yes, Miss Che. I forgot to tell you that I brought her to the hospital because, in the middle of our chat, she complained of stabbing chest pain." 

Pain reliever. Chest Pain. Hospital. These words echoed in her brain like a broken audiotape, and she started to feel panicked.

"Miss Che, I have to go. Miss Perez has no relative. The nurse is asking me now to process her ICU admission."

Hearing her words was like having a slow bomb inside her chest, its poison starting to diffuse and benumbed her senses before she could run and shout. The next thing she knew was that she was already running in the lobby, hailing the first taxi, which stopped by the entrance. The guard hurried to stop her because someone else got that ride. Yet, seeing her in a panicked expression, the guard backed off and let her go.

"In what hospital are you now, Miss Grace?" she asked, to Miss Grace's surprise. Miss Grace stuttered before she answered, torn in between her desire to disclose and the confidentiality that Miss Perez might care about.

"You said we have the same family name. Who knows I might be a relative?" Cherry tried to explain, taking in the cue of her hesitations.

Miss Grace finally gave in, and in the next few minutes, she found herself running towards the information desk, asking for the direction of the ICU. Like a flash of lightning, she appeared at the door of the ICU, too impatient to wait for the nurse to open up. Her hair got disheveled, and her breath ragged.

It somewhat took an eternity before the nurse finally opened up. She begged to allow her to see the patient, and after a few sets of reminders that she couldn't stay long and there were visiting hours to follow, Miss Grace was asked to go out so that she could get in.

Standing by the hospital bed of her mother, she watched her sleeping with a wincing expression.  That was perhaps because her breathing was fast despite the oxygen cannula attached to her nose to aid her respiration. She was taken aback in realizing that her mother was still as beautiful as she was six years ago,  though few lines were marking those passing years. Her knees trembled upon seeing her attached to beeping machines with flickering numbers she couldn't understand. However, there was one apparatus that looked familiar to her, and it looked like the cardiac monitor in movie scenes that displayed the tracings of her heartbeat.

She didn't know that tears were already dripping from her eyes, and complicated feelings wrapped up her heart. She felt anger, pity, guilt, and humiliation altogether, fighting to dominate her spirit. After staring at her for a considerable time, an urge to wake her up and relieve her of her guilt and miseries fought its way to her heart. She almost got tempted to give in when the nurse approached her.

"Ma'am, you may come back later when the patient wakes up. She's on a pain reliever for her chest pain and another medication to make her relax."

"May I talk to the doctor, please?" Cherry asked with pleading eyes, a sense of deep anxiety flashed within.

Before the nurse could answer, the door to the ICU opened up. A woman in her fifties, wearing a white coat entered, tagging behind her were younger males and females in white coat also, who seemed to be post-graduate interns.

"Good morning! I am Dr. Medina, the patient's cardiologist," said the doctor with a smile on her face, glancing back and forth at her and the chart. "If I'm not mistaken, you are the patient's daughter. You look exactly like her."

Cherry nodded without saying a word, and her heartbeats were louder than the doctor's voice.

"Miss Perez has been suffering from heart problems for years already. And lately, the pumping of her heart is getting weaker."

"What do you mean, doc?" Cherry asked, her brain seemed to process information slower at this moment.

"We call that in medical terms as ejection fraction. While the normal percentage ranges from 55% percent to 70%, hers is 40%.

After a few minutes of discussion with the doctor, which she didn't understand because of her inner chaos, she left the ICU and went out aimlessly. 

Meanwhile, Miss Perez woke up, and a nurse greeted her with a smile."Miss Perez, your daughter came here to see you, and she left a few minutes ago."