Chapter 6 Filthy

The discomfort of rough fingers on her thigh awakened Sherry from her nap on the subway. Before she could identify her molester, the person vanished among the crowd. Next time, she might not be so lucky, she thought. Right now, it was just a hand up her thigh, but what about next time?

Being poor surely came with its hardships, something she had to deal with since Anders, the breadwinner of the family, had the accident. It was not unusual for such inappropriate behaviour in a bustling carriage, and it was something she needed to be careful the next time around.

A buzzing sound announced that the doors were closing. Regaining her senses, her immediate instinct was to quickly check her purse if the cheque from Stark Williams was still there. She heaved a sigh of relief upon finding it where she had kept it inside her purse’s hidden compartment.

At the next stop, she got down and dragged herself uncomfortably out of the train station to the nearest bank branch to cash in her cheque. Fortunately for her, there weren't many people left who would scoff at how painful she looked as she walked, so she mustered her strength and forced her way to the bank.

When she finally got home, it was already seven at night. A year ago, as she faced financial difficulties, she downgraded from Anders’ fancy apartment to an old rundown apartment located further away from the station. The boy hadn’t complained about the change in environment, although she realised he seemed to be distancing himself from her.

With that, over the months, he got more introverted and spoke less with her, which made her wonder if he suspected something had happened to his father.

The heater in their bathroom had broken down again, just as she was getting into the shower. She thought of how much she had left in the household accounts, and let out a loud sigh.

Once, Anders was rich. And she had hated living like that then, thinking that leaving was the answer to giving her son the best lifestyle. Yet now, she was regretting when everything turned out so burdensome. If she could go back in time, would she have selected the rich route?

Nothing in life was easy, she reminded herself as the cold water from the shower hit her hair, plastering it to her head. She was the thinnest she had ever been in years, but nothing hurt like what she experienced today.

Grabbing the sponge, she rubbed her body as hard as she could to expel the filth in her body.

“Don’t lie, you enjoy it as much as I do. Never been satisfied in this way, you whore?” Stark’s voice boomed in her mind.

Though Stark William was harsh in his language, he hadn’t for once used profanities. However, he seemed to find joy in taunting her. Instead of a passionate moment between them, she felt tortured.

She didn’t understand why she was thinking so much about that two-hour session with Stark. There were just too many confused thoughts in her mind about the man. A man who had sex with her casually and she couldn’t even deny him. But if she hadn’t allowed him, what would become of their deal and Anders’ life?

The man had a girlfriend. Why did he bang her then? Did those high school days matter to him so much, that he carried his plans of hurting her with him all these years?

She scrubbed harder as tears flowed down her cheeks and down her bare abdomen. The edges of the sponge were rough and hurt her delicate skin, but she still felt disgusted with herself.

Tomorrow will be a better day, she promised. Once she got pregnant through the surrogacy procedures, Stark probably wouldn’t touch her again. Then, all she had to do was to get through the nine months of pregnancy while she was carrying Stark’s child.

She pulled her nightgown on and cried herself to sleep.

…………………………………………………………………….

“Lei?”

A soft melodious voice called her in her sleep. She dreamed of a lot of happy things, like Anders waking up from his coma and her son growing up and inheriting a fortune from Lee. The best dream she had ever had of Anders and Lee making amends and them becoming a happy family.

But it would never happen, she told herself. Reality was crueler than she could ever fathom. Depending on her choices then, she could have heaven, but she chose hell. She was weak and naive then, but now, she was much stronger than she had ever been. For Anders and her family, she was capable of much more.

“Shila?”

Sherry cracked an eye to find her former co-worker and good friend, Shila, hovering over her. She was burning like hot coals and her head was heavy.

“You’re running a fever,” Shila explained as she took the thermometer away from Sherry’s forehead. “What happened last night?”

Sherry didn’t answer.

Shila just casually walked to the bathroom and emerged with a white damp cloth. Placing it over Sherry’s forehead, she nagged again.

“How can you just neglect your health? It’s a good thing your son is away on the class trip, otherwise it would have broken him to see you in this manner!”

Sherry closed her eyes with a painful look on her face. Nobody, not even Shila, would understand her pain. How she had to push herself to such extremes just for the sake of love. Unlike Sherry whose husband was merely a rising sales executive, Shila’s husband Nat was a Jack of All Trades. It helped that he was the boss’ nephew, and his cheerful personality welcomed him in what he chose to do.

Shila had a darker complexion than Sherry. She was a bit on the chubbier side compared to Sherry, but she carried her flair well. As Sherry did, when Shila married Nat, she let go of her masseur job. The couple didn’t have any children yet, but lived such a blissful life.

“Shila…” She murmured. “Please, let me rest…”

Shila stared at her friend sheepishly. “Guess I got carried away.” She got up to leave the room. Sherry’s eyelid suddenly twitched incessantly. Something just wasn’t right. Had something happened to Anders?

She hurriedly found the strength to pull herself up.

“Shila, I just remembered I have something to do. Could you send me to the hospital?”

“But you’re running a fever, girl! Can’t you at least rest for a few hours?”

“It’s urgent.”

“Fine, let’s just use this.” She came back with a fever patch that she pasted on Sherry’s forehead, and a jacket to block out the coldness of the air-conditioning in the hospital. “You might as well see a doctor when you’re there.”

“Thanks, Shila.”

She had difficulties even walking straight. Shila probably assumed it was her fever, and after some struggling, she managed to pull Sherry into her car. Sherry wasn’t impressed by the classy sports car she drove, although she greatly envied the couple.

Nothing seemed more pleasing to Sherry than the sight of Anders sleeping peacefully in his bed. As soon as she had checked up on Anders, Shila insisted Sherry see the doctor immediately to treat her fever.

“Fine, fine, as you wish,” she uttered blankly. The doctor turned out to be a nice gentleman, prescribing her some paracetamol to relieve her suffering and advising her to take longer periods of rest. But even during this time, she could sense her heart beating hard, as if something was about to happen.

“I’ll go get your medication.” Shila smiled, watching her friend converse with the doctor casually. Sherry couldn’t help realising how concerned the doctor was, even after her fever seemed to have subsided partially from the patch on her forehead. No matter how she answered him, he just smiled at her.

Out of the blue, Andrew’s class teacher’s number appeared on her screen. Unless it was important, the teacher would have not normally called her.

Was something wrong with her son? She hesitated answering the call, as if waiting for the call to get answered on its own.

Was something wrong with her son?