The Vampire King's Surrogate

A life full of Bills

Trisha POV

Waking up to another morning full of debts. Loans, medical bills for my little brother who has a hole in his heart, school loans, and more debt left by my father who recently passed away. As I stared at the dirty ceiling that morning, I thought about my life and how unfortunate it was. I rolled out of my tiny bed and headed into the bathroom to get prepared for class. As I headed towards the bathroom, my phone started ringing on the bed. I rushed towards the bed and quickly picked up the call before it ended. The number had no name, so I had no idea who it was. “Hello,” I said into the phone.

“Listen to me, you have five days to pay up the loan you borrowed else I'll remove your heart and sell it at a great price,” The person on the other side of the call threatened. I didn't know if I should be afraid of his threats or his hoarse voice that made my heart race.

“Who…” I tried to ask for the name of the caller as I have countless people that I borrowed from, but the call ended abruptly and when I tried calling the number again, it was unavailable. “Who could it be?” I pondered on the various loan sharks I had borrowed from. “ Is it Mr. fish?” I shook my head at that idea. Mr. fish and I were on good terms. While pondering about my debts, my phone beeped multiple times with countless messages, and I heaved a sigh as I went through the messages. Most of it was from loan sharks and the hospital where Connor, my little brother was admitted reminded me that I had bills to pay but the text that stood out in all of it was a message from an unknown number.

Remember you have five days to pay my money else I'll sell your organs.

Your worst nightmare.

I visibly gulped when I finished reading the message. It was from the same number who had called me earlier, and the money I was owing him was not something I could get in five days. “How do I get $2000?” My hand shook terribly as I dropped the phone on my bed. “What do I do?” I pondered as I walked into the bathroom. I didn't know what to do at that moment, and as the water cascaded down my body, I realized that my life was the worst thing anyone could ask for. Once I was done dressing up, I headed out of my apartment and collided with the landlord, Mr. Edward.

Oh no, I thought when I saw him smirking at me. I was late on my rent for five months. “Mr. Edward,” I faked a smile as I greeted him but instead, he threw a paper at me.

“You have five days to vacate my house,” he shouted at me.

“ Five days!” I shouted as I stared into the letter he threw at me. “Mr. Edward, please be considerate, I have nowhere to stay,” I tried to beg him, but he yelled at me.

“Listen to me, you b***h! I have been keeping you because I thought that you'll pay me later, but,” he moved closer to me and grabbed my shoulder. He lowered his head towards my ear and whispered. “If you want to stay here then you need to do my wish,” he leaned closer, and I almost puked because his breath smelled like onions. “I can take care of you and….” I didn't wait for him to finish, as I kicked him in the nuts and bolted away. “ Don't come back, you b***h! I would rather not see you!”

I didn't bother turning back to face him as I continue running away until I reached the bus stop. Likewise, I heaved a sigh and sat down on the bench. “This is so messed up!” I ruffled my black hair. “What do I do?” I cupped my face and raised my head when I heard the bus stop. I stood up and entered the bus. Once I was seated, I swallowed an invisible lump in my throat and tried hard not to cry. If my parent had not died, then my life wouldn't turn out to be like this. My mother died from chronic heart disease, while my father drink himself to death while thinking about his mother. Now I was left alone with my little brother and I couldn't even take care of him. “Why is life so unfair to me?” I didn't realize when I burst into tears, not caring whether anyone was watching me or not. I just couldn't understand why my life had to be so cruel and unfortunate.

“Lake bus top!” I heard the bus driver announce. That was when my stop and I quickly stood up and rushed out of the boss, colliding with a girl who was handling fliers in the bus top.

“I am so sorry,” I apologized to her and crouched to her level to help her pick up the fliers that had dropped to the ground. “I didn't see you, and I am…”

“It's okay," The girl smiled at me. “I should have been looking out too,” she stood up.

I picked the last flier from the ground and handed it over to her. “There you have it.”

“You can keep it,” she said. “It contains job offers, and it might interest you,” the girl told me, and I nodded in response.

“Thank you,” I told her.

“Have a nice day,” she waved at me as I walked away. I turned back to face her and also waved.

I wished that I could have a nice day. I threw the flier into my bag and heaved a deep sigh. “Today must be great,” I believed it will be. I took a taxi from the bus stop to the front of my college. It was a community college and when I reached it, I headed for my class.

I was a third-year Medical student with numerous bills to pay. Throughout the classes, I barely listened as my mind was fixed on something else. I thought about how I could pay my bills and help my brother survive. Once my classes ended, I took a taxi to the hospital my little brother was admitted. Once I arrived there, I was stopped at the reception. “Miss Trisha,” one of the nurses called me.

“ The doctor will like to see you,” she informed me.

I followed her into the doctor's office and stood at the doorway. “Come sit, miss Trisha,” the doctor beckoned to me. I walked to the front of his desk and sat down opposite him.

My heart beat hard against my chest as I contemplated what he was about to tell me. “Is everything alright with my little brother?” I asked him.

“ It's your bills, Miss Trisha,” he informed me.

My bills? I had wanted to scream out loud, but I kept it in. I wondered why everyone had to remind me of my loads of bills in just a day. “I will sort it out soon, Doctor. I….”

“ Your little brother's treatment will be stopped soon if you refuse to pay your pilling bills,” he reminded me and I nodded in response, unable to say anything else. “And apart from that, your brother needs surgery as fast as possible! He needs a transplant!”

My heart rate increases at the mention of that. I couldn't afford to lose my little brother. “Can't you go on with the surgery? I promise to pay you,” I told him.

“ I am sorry Miss Trisha, but there is nothing I can do for you any longer,” his response made my shoulders drop. I couldn't even hear the rest of his complaints after then, and when I left his office for my brother's ward, I broke into tears. My brother was laying on the bed with a life support machine, and he wasn't moving. Ever since he was admitted years ago, I had been by his side and his beautiful smile and amazing voice was the only thing that made me keep believing that he was going to live.

“If I were you, I'll give up because your brother is going through numerous pains,” The Doctor's words resounded in my head. When I reached his bed, I sat beside him staring at his pale face and thinking of how I could save him.” you will be fine little brother,” I hugged him.

And just then, my phone rang in my bag. When I dipped my hand to bring out the phone, I found something else. The flier I had taken from the girl. “The flier has numerous job opportunities,” the girl's voice resounded in my head.

I quickly opened the flier and smiled when I realized that my breakthrough was in front of me.” A surrogate!” I read the first job that I saw, and my eyes almost popped out of the socket when I saw the amount of money that would be paid to the surrogate mother. “A hundred million dollars!” I gasped.

How is that even possible?