The Bad Boy's Angel

Chapter Three - Her Mom's Letter

They all nodded, too nervous and worried to argue. Alex drove as Angela and Damian sat at the back with their mom, and Adam sat in front of him. Arnold’s hospital was twenty minutes away. Alex parked the car in front of the gates and Adam called Arnold to inform him they had arrived. He was waiting with his staff near the entrance. They came forward and carried their mom on a wheeled stretcher towards the emergency unit.

They all followed Arnold and their mom inside. They were asked to wait in the lobby while Arnold spoke to a doctor. The doctors would conduct some tests and scans before starting the treatment. Panic settled in Angela’s heart as she waited for Arnold to emerge. After six long hours, Arnold walked out of the emergency department. He was visibly shaken and came and sat down with them.

“What happened to mom, Arnie?” asked Alex with a solemn expression. All of them were too scared to even ask.

“Mom has Glioblastoma. It’s a very aggressive type of brain tumor that spreads fast. It’s in its last stage. We need to operate as soon as possible. The tests are being conducted. We’ll have the operation tomorrow if all the reports are clear,” he informed, his face white as a sheet of paper.

Adam, Angela, Damian, and Alex just gaped at him. They couldn’t believe that it was so serious. “Will the operation cure her, Arnie?” asked Adam, in a small voice.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t look very hopeful,” he confessed.

A sob escaped Angela, and she hid her face in Damian’s chest and wept.

“Why did she not tell us before? We could have saved her,” said Adam, running his fingers through his hair, his face distraught with worry.

“Maybe she didn’t have any wish to live,” said Arnold and they looked at him.

Alex sighed. “Maybe. So what do we do now? Did she regain her consciousness?” asked Alex.

“No, she hasn’t. There’s not much to do. Damian, can you take Angela home? We’re here,” said Arnold.

“No, I won’t leave Mom and go anywhere,” said Angela with conviction.

“Do we inform Dad?” asked Adam.

“Try. He won’t take your call when he’s at the university,” said Arnold, and it was true. Adam tried ten times, but their dad’s phone was switched off.

Arnold went inside to check with the rest of the test results and they waited impatiently. It was six o’clock in the evening and they all waited eagerly for the doctor to inform them about the surgery.

The doctor and Arnold came out of the emergency unit. The doctor took off his head cap and so did Arnold while they looked on, horrified and panicked.

“She’s no more. I’m sorry, the tumor spread fast and burst before we could treat her,” said the neurosurgeon.

They returned home with heavy hearts and Angela sank into the sofa and broke down into painful sobs. Adam, too, slumped to the sofa next to her and broke down. The entire house echoed with their grief-stricken outbursts. It was obvious their dad hadn't returned home yet.

Adam stroked Angela's head as she wept bitterly onto his shoulder. Her heart was breaking and memories of the times she spent with her mom kept flashing in her mind. Her last words, and her painful expressions, all made her wish she could turn the hands of time. If only she knew the seriousness of her mom's condition, she would have admitted her last night. Maybe she would have survived then.

Damian, too, sat beside her on the other side with tears in his eyes. Alex too couldn't stop himself, although he had never cried in his entire life. Arnold sat with his head in his hands as a few drops of tears escaped his eyes too. Each one of them battled with their own emotions silently.

Their dad walked in at 11 o'clock in the night and stopped mid-stride when he found his whole family in such a state. His mouth hung open, seeing them all huddled in the living room, looking devastated and broken.

"What happened to you guys?" he asked worriedly.

"Mom died," said Angela, bitterly weeping again. His dad was momentarily taken aback, but he quickly composed himself and stared at them with disbelief.

"What? How? When?" asked their dad, not looking at all affected as they were.

"Today in the evening. We called you but you didn't accept our call,” said Alex, displeased with their dad.

"Oh, I was busy. So what happened to her?" he asked, sitting down to drink water. "Did she return home at all? Or was she at that hospital of hers? Who informed you guys?" he bombarded them with questions, casually sipping his water. Strangely, his face was devoid of any emotions. The boys shared a look of disappointment amongst themselves.

"No, we took her to the hospital," said Angela. She couldn't believe the questions her dad was asking them. How could he not be affected by her death? After all she was his wife, the mother of his children.

"Why, what happened? Was she pregnant?" he asked sarcastically as he casually sipped from his bottle like every other day. Angela's teeth clenched, but she closed her eyes to swallow the anger bubbling inside her.

Arnold, unable to control himself, banged his fist on the coffee table and got up angrily. "Mom had Glioblastoma. It's a very aggressive type of brain tumor that spreads quickly. She was in the last stage. We needed to operate her immediately, but before the MRI and other test results were ready, the tumor burst internally. Do you know she didn't have the will to live? Of course, you wouldn’t know! Wow, Dad! What an amazing husband you've been to her," said Arnold, clapping his hands sarcastically.

Their dad tried to answer him, but Arnold held up his hand. "No, today I'll tell you about our mom and you'll have to listen. Did you know that she never complained about her ill health only because of you? She kept going till the last minute and then last night she resigned from her job. She had a high fever when we admitted her to the hospital I'm attached to. But as expected, even during her last breath, you weren't there, Dad. So you don't get to say these meaningless things when she's no more," yelled a furious Arnold. He turned around and walked towards his room, muttering angrily under his breath.

Their dad sat still, digesting the news. "Who was with her when she died?" he asked and Damian got up and angrily stomped off to his house, unable to take Angela's dad's reaction anymore.

"We were. Why, whom did you expect, Dad? Were you there?" asked Alex, getting up and going to his room. He was disappointed with his father. Even if they fought, she was his wife of thirty years and they did not expect this sort of behavior out of him.

His dad didn't ask anything more. He simply went off towards his room. Adam and Angela dried their tears. Their dad's reaction to the news of their mom's death astounded both. They hadn't expected him to be heartbroken, but at least he could be a little more affected than he actually was.

"I don't want to involve him in mom's last rites," said Angela in a choked voice.

"We won't," swore Adam.

The next fifteen days passed by like a whirlwind. Angela and her brothers tried to cope with the feeling that their mom was no more. Their dad wasn't at all affected, just as they had expected him to be. He continued with his university lectures every day and they didn't bother him. In fact, none of them interacted with him in the last fifteen days.

Damian was with them every day, and Angela was thankful for the support. Arnold shifted back home from his college dorm and life went on, but despite everything, the void was still there.

However, amidst everything, Angela was the most affected. She felt guilty for not spending time with her mom, and for not looking after her when she needed her the most. She cleaned and sorted her mom's room and found some old pictures of hers which she kept stored in a chest. Surprisingly, all the pictures present were clicked with them. There wasn't a single photograph of her mom and her dad together. Angela found an old diary and picked it up when a note fell from it. She stopped and picked it up, curiously. She read it in a single breath, her heart heavy with apprehension.

Dearest Angie,

When you find this note, I will be gone. I have very few days to live.

There are many things that you don't know. The answers to all your queries are in this diary, but please don't read it now. Read it on your eighteenth birthday. You will be more mature to understand me then.

I'm sorry that I couldn't be the best mom to you, although I wanted to. Have a happy life and smile every day when I'm gone. Give my love to your brothers, too. I wanted a happy life with all of you, but I didn't get a chance to. I want to see all of you happy. After you read my diary, tell your dad that I've forgiven him.

I'm watching over all of you. Be happy and follow your heart always.

Love

Mom

She broke down completely after reading the letter. It was her mom's last letter, and it was meant for her. She stored everything carefully in the chest and took it to her room. She didn't say a word to anyone. Her mom had left it for her and she would read it when she turned eighteen.

Life continued as usual, but all of them were disappointed with their dad. He, too, avoided any sort of interactions with them and they didn't complain. Term end exams were coming up and all of them were too busy preparing for their exams. Damian came over to study with her, and so did Xavion. Xavion started living with Damian and Angela stopped going to his house like before. Not that she could with studies, housework, and school taking up most of her time.

Xavion hardly went home. He didn't want to face the insults his uncle threw at him all the time, trying to prove how worthless he was. Damian's life was no better. His mom and dad had ugly fights for the little time they spent in the house together. Most of the days his mom didn't return home at all.

Amidst all this drama, exams went on and everyone cleared and successfully went into the next grade year. It was Adam's final year at school and he became extra serious. Things had normalized with Angela's dad and as the months passed by, everything was back to how it was before her mom's death.

However, Damian's behavior started changing towards her, and as the days passed by he became more and more possessive of Angela, much to her anxiety. He mostly hung around her, more than he spent time with Xavion. He loved to be close to her, to feel her against him, but Angela was oblivious to his feelings and concentrated more on her studies.

Helena, however, realized chasing Xavion was a hopeless dream and finally succumbed to Brian's charms. Brian had been pursuing her for a year now and she agreed to become his girlfriend. Brian, being Freddie's best friend, made her hang out with his group more often than with Angela. So Angela spent more time with Damian and Xavion at school, since Helena wasn't available now.