Ghost In Red

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"Mom? Where are you going?" I asked my mother when she stood up after keeping the flyer and her phone inside her purse. Then she walked to the door.    

"Mom! Hey! Don't go, please! Wait!" I called her out, even if she couldn't hear me, and I ran after her.    

"Wait! Oh, hell no!" I cursed as I saw her going to a parked car on the opposite side of the road.    

I hastily looked at where Vidia had gone, and I saw her still looking around the establishments around the street.    

"Vidia! Mom's here! She's going away! Hey! Geez! What should I do?" I yelled and contemplated what to do as I had no freaking idea.    

I don't know if I should go with my mom or with my girlfriend's best friend who's been looking for my mom. But neither of them could notice me, so... It wouldn't matter.    

I'm going with my mom.    

After thinking twice and thrice, I hurried to my mother's car to go with her. And I guess she's going home.    

---    

"Holy anemone! This is your house, Mom? It looks cozy!" I remarked in awe as I got a sight of her home. It was small but elegant with all the pretty flowers around and a small pool on its left side.    

She opened the door and walked in, and I followed her.    

I almost jumped out of surprise when I heard loud barks, and there, three big Huskies greeted their furMom. And I shrieked when a cat meows like she's mad at something, me, particularly. And then the big doggos barked at me, making my mother hush them.    

She walked to a door, and I presume it was her room.    

I waited for anything or anyone else to show up, but there was none.    

Does it mean she's living all alone here? Why?    

I walked through Mom's room door, and I saw her nowhere around. Mm, she must have gone to the bathroom.    

I looked around her room, and I saw a thing I was kind of looking for.    

I saw a lot of pictures on the nightstand beside her bed. These are my baby pictures, and some were when I was seven or eight years old. Now, I know she always thinks of me. I just wonder why she never thought of reaching out to me for all these years. Maybe because of Dad. He might have told her not to. And that sucks big time.    

—    

I think it's been an hour since my mother got in the bathroom, and I roamed around Mom's room and the rest of her home.    

I went back to Mom's room and saw she finally stepped out of the bathroom in a robe and a towel around her head.    

I gave her time to dress up, and I tried to make friends with her furbabies in the living room. And I was successful. They were all pretty nice and friendly. She has three dogs and two cats. I have always known her as an animal lover, but we never got the chance to have cats or dogs before as my dad was allergic to them. Now, I never thought she would really put up a clinic to help sick animals. And I admire her for that.    

I went back to her room, and I saw her sitting on the bed and took out something from her purse. It was her phone.    

Is she going to call Sydney's phone number?    

I looked closely at the screen of her phone to see what she would do next, and I could hear her letting out deep breaths. I know she's nervous as she thinks it is me who she will call.    

After dialing my girlfriend's number, she closed her eyes and let out a heavy breath. And as she was about to press the call icon, her phone suddenly rang, and someone was calling her. She picked it up and greeted the person on the other line.    

"Hello, Shelby? What's the matter? It's late now."    

"Emergency? Who is it? A girl?"    

"Alright. I'll be there."    

Mom ended the call, and I like to assume that Vidia has found what she's looking for. I hope she'll meet my mother soon.    

Mom hastily grabbed a coat, took off her flip-flops and wore black rubber shoes, brought her purse, then raced to the door.    

I followed her to her car, and she drove back again to where we left.    

This is it—my mom, to the rescue.    

—    

I got the sight of Vidia standing in front of a closed clinic with an older woman and a man beside her as my mom parked her car in the parking space.    

Vidia hurriedly went near us, and I stepped down after Mom.    

"Hi! You must be Dr. Veronica C. Dawson. It's so nice to meet you finally!" Vidia greeted my mother with a huge smile of relief as she offered her a handshake, and the woman smiled at her as she shook her hand.    

"It's a pleasure to meet you, dear! What do you need? What's the emergency all about?" Mom asked the girl, and Vidia stammered.    

"Umm, well, I... Uh, my name is Vidia Alexis Logan, Doc. And I am... Wait, uh, my... Your... No, yeah, here. I think I got it. I am your daughter's girlfriend... Best friend. Yeah! I am. I mean. My bestie is your girlfriend's... No, your daughter's girlfriend, Olie, Olivia Jillian. Your daughter is OJ Hunters. Right?"    

My mom slowly nodded her head, even though her face showed that she didn't quite understand what was going on.    

"My daughter? Yes. She is my daughter. Whe-where is she? And... Umm. Wha-what girlfriend? She has a girlfriend?" Mom asked her in confusion, and I waited for the girl to tell her the answer.    

"Yeah! Olivia has a girlfriend. Sydney. Sydney Roswell. I'm her best friend." Vid proudly replied with a big smile, and I turned my gaze to my bewildered mother.    

"Syd... Sydney? Sydney Roswell? How? I mean...."    

"Uh-huh! You know her?" The brown-haired girl curiously asked, and I am pretty sure Mom recognized the name of the little blonde b*tch who I loathed before.    

"Yes. I do... But how did...? Okay. That doesn't matter. I just... I want to know where Jillian is. Where's my daughter?" Mom answered and asked about me.    

"Okay. Well, umm, actually, Doc, that's what I am here for. I want you to... Uh, your daughter... She, umm, she was looking for you... And us, especially my bestie. We need your help, Doc. She needs you." Vid confessed and looked a bit anxious about telling my mother my situation. I'm kind of worried, too.    

"What happened? Where is she?"    

"Umm, this is a thing... I don't have any idea how to deal with it, but I will try my best in the easiest way possible to explain it all to you. And I know you are going to freak out. And I have no idea if your ex-husband has told you about this." Vid began, and I saw how my mom was eager to hear about me with the mention of my father.    

"What is it?"    

"Ollie got into a road accident about a month ago. And she's---" Vidia began to explain but was cut off by my mad mom.    

"WHAT? She... She got into what? Wha-what happened? Where is she? Is she... is she alright?"    

"Well, that's the thing, Doc. She isn't really that fine. That's why we are here in Chicago to let you know." Vid answered, and I noticed my mother began to cry.    

"How... How can... No, where is she?" Mom asked and held Vid on her shoulders while her tears began streaming.    

"She's currently in New York City for about a month now. She's in a coma. And... Umm, I just have one favor—big favor to ask you, Doc. We need you to go there ASAP. I think we can still make it... By tomorrow. There's a 5:00 AM flight. I booked a flight already. And... My friends are heading there right now. And I guess they made it to the last flight going there tonight. They'll watch over Ollie while waiting for us to arrive. And you should talk to your ex right away." Vid replied and asked her our greatest concern, and Mom looked baffled.    

"What? What do you mean? Why are we running out of time? What's happening? What happened to Jillian?"    

"Uh... umm, this is so hard. But... Umm, fine. You need a heads up. By tomorrow morning, I don't exactly know what time, but Olivia's father got a... He decided to... Let her go... For good. He doesn't want OJ to suffer longer. And we don't want it to happen. So Sydney thought of looking for you here to let you know and ask for help to give Olivia more time to heal. We believe she doesn't want to go yet. My best friend has loved your daughter all her life, Doc. And they both want to be together longer. It's kinda hard to explain, but I think that's all you should know. We need to be there first thing in the morning before we'll be too late." Vidia explained, and shock is undoubtedly an understatement of what my mother feels. And I feel so sorry.    

"No, no, my Little Jillian. Why? No, I need to see her. I need to go to her. Oh, I am so sorry, my baby. I shouldn't have left you. I should have come back for you. I'm so sorry." Mom cried, and tears kept streaming down her cheeks. And Vidia put her in a warm embrace.    

I know my mother has a lot of regrets in her life, and leaving me alone was one of those. And even if I haven't heard her apologies, I have already forgiven her for leaving. That was already a long time ago. It's not really her fault why both her and Dad fell out of love, making my father cheat. It's just that Mom left me because of my Dad and his late parents' decision.    

If I have another chance to live, I will do everything I want and need to do. I did put it on my bucket list to find Mom. And I already found her. I have high hopes that she'll be the key for me to be okay. She has the right over me, too. She can fight for my life.    

I know Sydney's sacrifices won't go to waste.    

We can make it. We will.