Price of Oblivion

Zara

I let my cell phone slip from my numb fingers. It hit the hallway floorboards with a hollow smack, landing dangerously close to that crumpled envelope of cash. My chest tightened until I could barely draw a breath. This small apartment had always been my sanctuary, but today it felt like a sprawling, empty tomb. The sheer agony of Kyle's betrayal pressed a heavy weight right down on my ribs. I squeezed my burning eyes shut, but it did not help. The sickening image of his pale body tangled with another woman in my own bed flashed across my eyelids. I heard the sounds coming from my own bedroom. I desperately sought immediate oblivion to erase the memory from my brain.

I dragged my exhausted body up from the thin rug. My legs felt like lead as I walked past the living room couch and stopped right in front of the tall wooden cabinet. I reached up to the highest shelf. My fingers gripped the smooth glass of my late dad's saved, expensive whiskey. It was meant for a grand celebration, but tonight I just wanted to erase my mind. I pulled the heavy bottle down and firmly twisted off the metal cap.

I brought the glass rim to my lips and took a massive, punishing gulp. The harsh, burning liquid scorched the back of my throat. I coughed, my eyes watering, but I refused to stop. I tipped the bottle back and drank relentlessly. The fiery whiskey hit my empty stomach and spread a false warmth through my veins. It slowly dulled the sharp, agonizing edges of my fresh heartbreak.

The room began to spin out of control. I lost my balance and slid slowly down the living room wall until my cheek rested against the cold hardwood floor. The heavy glass bottle slipped from my loose grip and rolled toward the television stand. Consumed by my relentless weeping, I curled into a tight ball. My body finally shut down, leaving me to pass out in a numb, drunken blur on the floor.

A piercing, relentless ring dragged me harshly back to consciousness. The shrill noise drilled right through my eardrums. A blinding, nauseating hangover crushed my skull. My tongue felt like rough sandpaper. I swiped the phone screen to answer a call from a strange number.

"Miss Zara? This is Elena from City Central Hospital. I am calling to inform you that Lily's crucial heart surgery will officially begin in two hours."

I rubbed my forehead. "Thank you. I am on my way."

I tossed the phone onto the rug. Then my bloodshot eyes caught the white numbers boldly displayed on the lock screen.

12:04 PM.

Pure panic struck me like lightning. I had slept like a corpse for over twelve hours. Deeply disgusted with my own reckless behavior, I stumbled straight into the bathroom. I stepped under the scalding shower spray, letting the punishing heat shock my system awake. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I marched to my closet. Acting on a strange impulse, I hastily packed a revealing black lace set from my Crimson Shadows wardrobe into my bag just in case.

I grabbed my keys and raced frantically out the front door. The concrete stairs felt like an endless obstacle course. I burst out onto the sidewalk, flagged down a passing yellow cab, and urged the driver to speed. The entire ride across the city felt like an eternity.

Breathless and aching from head to toe, I reached the surgical floor and speed-walked to the central nurses' station.

"Lily Reyes. Did she go in yet?"

The nurse behind the desk tapped a few keys. "The surgery has been slightly delayed. You can go back and see her now."

I let out a massive sigh of relief that rattled my sore ribs. I walked down the bright, sterile hallway and pushed open the heavy wooden door to room 312.

Lily sat propped up in the center of the mechanical bed. She looked incredibly small and fragile amidst the massive tangle of medical wires coming from the tall monitors. Her pale skin blended right into the white hospital gown. But when she saw me standing in the doorway, a huge smile broke across her exhausted face.

I rushed to her bedside and carefully wrapped my arms around her narrow shoulders, terrified I might pull one of her vital wires loose. I kissed the top of her dark hair.

Her small, vulnerable voice trembled as she looked down at her hands. "I am scared, Zara. What if something goes wrong?"

My heart shattered into a million jagged pieces. I gently smoothed my sister's hair, blinking back my hot tears as I promised her. "You are going to be perfectly okay. Your heart is strong, and this doctor is going to fix it. I promise you."

She nodded slowly, a spark of determined hope shining in her big brown eyes. A team of nurses stepped into the room wearing powder-blue scrubs. I stood up and backed away to the wall. I watched with shaking hands as the nurses unlocked the bed and wheeled my brave sister out of the room toward the sterile operating theater.

Seeking clarity on our dire financial reality, I turned around and took the elevator down to the main floor. I approached the hospital billing desk.

"I need to check the remaining surgery balance for Lily Reyes."

The medical clerk pulled up the file on her monitor. She read the figures and looked at me through the small speak-hole in the thick security glass. "After reviewing your initial deposits, the remaining surgery balance is exactly nine thousand and five hundred dollars."

My stomach plummeted to the tile floor. Nine thousand and five hundred dollars was an impossible number. I pulled out the crumpled envelope of dirty strip club cash from my pocket. Five hundred dollars.

"Wait right here. I need to use the ATM."

Desperate, I practically ran to the bank machines in the lobby. I slid my debit card into the slot and drained every single cent I owned. I scraped together my near-empty bank account funds. The machine spit out a stack of twenty-dollar bills. I walked back to the billing desk and shoved the entire wad of cash through the metal slot. Combined with the envelope, it totaled a pathetic thirteen hundred dollars. I deposited it all immediately, watching my final safety net vanish into the system. I was still nowhere close to having enough. Over eight thousand dollars still hung over my head.

Exhausted beyond human measure, I turned away from the desk and dragged my feet back up to the surgical waiting room. I collapsed onto one of the hard plastic benches lining the back wall. My head pounded from the lingering whiskey, and my body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. I just wanted to rest my heavy eyes for a single second. I let my eyelids slide shut, and I accidentally dozed off once again.

Loud, booming voices calling out names suddenly jerked me awake. I gasped and bolted upright. My heart raced frantically against my ribcage. The waiting room was packed with people now. I whipped my head around and stared at the large circular clock hanging directly above the nurses' station doors.

7:04 PM.

Crushing guilt for my whiskey-induced fatigue consumed my thoughts. I clawed my cell phone out of my pocket and tapped the black screen. The bright light revealed multiple missed calls from Don. A new, threatening text message glowed mockingly on the lock screen.

'Where are you? The client is asking.'

I stared at the words as true panic seized my tight throat. I stood up from the plastic bench and looked toward the operating theater doors. Lily was still in surgery. I whispered a silent, desperate promise to my brave sister. "I will return before you wake up from the anesthesia."

I sprinted out of the waiting room. I bounded down the hospital stairs, ignoring the burning protests in my calf muscles. I pushed through the main exit doors and flagged a yellow cab down in the busy street.

"Crimson Shadows. Step on it."

I gripped the leather armrest tightly in the backseat as the cab tore through the evening traffic. My mind spun with awful worst-case scenarios. I jumped out of the car the second we pulled up to the curb, tossing paper cash into the front seat.

Don was already waiting outside the heavy club doors. His face was bright red and openly furious. He stomped forward and roughly grabbed my upper arm. His sharp fingers dug painfully into my skin. He hissed venomously in my ear, dragging me toward the dark entrance. "You are almost an hour late. Do you comprehend exactly how much this client is paying for your time? Get changed. Instantly."

I ripped my arm out of his brutal grip and ran straight for the dressing room. I pushed the door open. Several dancers sat at the mirrored vanity tables, adjusting their glittering outfits. I ignored their harsh, judgmental stares. I dropped my bag on a folding chair and ripped off my street clothes. My hands shook as I hastily threw on the tiny pieces of the revealing black lace set. The dark fabric clung tightly to my curves, exposing a terrible amount of skin. I sat down in front of a mirror and fiercely rushed my heavy Raven makeup. I dragged thick black eyeliner across my sore lids and painted my lips a dark, sinful red.

Gia suddenly appeared in the open doorway, crossing her arms over her chest. She stared at me in the mirror, verbally confirming my dreaded destination. "VIP Room Three. He is waiting for you."

I grabbed my high heels and strapped them onto my feet. I stood up and walked out of the dressing room. Every step felt like a march straight toward a deep cliff. My heels clicked heavily and methodically down the dark hallway. Each agonizing step pulled me closer to the enigmatic stranger. The heavy bass of the club music pulsed through the floorboards, matching the erratic thudding of my heart in my chest.

I stopped just outside the tall wooden door of Room Three. I raised my hand and pressed my trembling palm firmly against the cold gold handle. The metal chilled my heated skin. I stared at the dark grain of the wood, my mind flashing straight back to the empty hospital bank account. I needed this cash tonight. I had no other choice left in this world.

I promised myself under my breath. "This will be just one last time."

I prayed desperately to whatever God was listening that I would figure out another way to get the money tomorrow. Just tonight. I would stomach this for one single night, and then I would find another path. I took one massive, shuddering deep breath, and pushed the heavy door open.