CHAPTER 2: Only a matter of time

"Katie." Alesia smiles at her nurse who walks in with what she's guessing is her medication.

"Hi Alesia how are you feeling?" She asks and Aleisa shrugs.

"Better than two days ago." She joke and Katie smiles.

"Just do me a favor." Katie says placing her medication in the palm of her hand and a glass of water in the other.

"What favor?" Alesia asks.

"Survive." She says leaving the room.

"I'm trying to." Alesia whispers.

Soon enough her mum walks in with some bags and she notices they are from that healthy restaurant she likes.

"Honey I brought you some food." She says and Alesia fakes a smile. I've already eaten she wants to tell her but she can't, she knows her mum just wants to take care of her. So Alesia eats the salad. Well half of it and tells her mum she's quite full.

"Did Eric come visit you?" Donna asks her daughter and she nods.

"Yes but he had to leave early." Alesia lies.

"Too bad." She says adjusting Alesia's bed then pillow.

"Mum I'm fine you don't have to." I start.

"Let me take care of you Ally." She says and Alesia gives up and just nods.

"Okay mum but your leaving right after I fall asleep." Alesia tells her and she nods.

"Okay honey."

+

Donna wakes up in a rather uncomfortable position. She soon realizes she didn't leave the hospital last night as the sun warms her face. Alesia can't see her there she need to go. She grabs her handbag and the bags of food from last night and leave the room.

She goes to the parking lot and enters her car. As soon as she shuts the door tears cascade down her face. 'Why? Why is this horrible thing happening to my daughter.' She asks herself as she cries against her steering wheel.

She pulls herself together after a few minutes and drives home thinking only of her daughter.

Realizing that she's late for church, she parks her car in the garage and head upstairs to her room.

"Where have you been?" Her husband asks as soon as she enters their room.

"The hospital Steve. The hospital, where else would I be." She retorts, grabbing her towel and heading to the bathroom.

After a lightening quick shower she walks out and starts getting dressed. When she's done she looks at herself in the mirror. Her eye catching, body-fitting, knee high royal blue dress looks fantastic on her. She stares at her not so decent chest and short sleeves and decides to grab her coat knowing the snow is gonna be bad today.

"Where are you going now Donna?" Steve asks her.

"Church." She replies taking taking her handbag off the dresser.

"Church? What for?"

"To pray. You wanna come with me." She asks hoping for once he'll say yes.

"No thanks Donna, I stopped believing in God the moment he decided to take my little girl from me." He answers her and Donna feels her blood begin to boil

"She's not gone Steve." She says anger pulsing through her veins as she grits her teeth.

"It's only a matter of time." He says crushing her heart.

"Stop it! Stop grieving my daughter when she isn't even dead!." I shout then slam the door as I exit.

+

"There's nothing more we can do for her except wait for a heart Mrs Smith." Dr Collins says.

Isabella looks at her mothers horrified face with pity as the doctor delivers the news.

"For now she should go back home and rest. Do some of the things she's always wanted to do."

"How long does she have Doctor?" Alesia's concerned mother asks.

"It will be a miracle if she makes it past this year." He says and my mother chokes. I put my hand on hers and I notice a tear escaping her eye but she dries it off.

"Here is the prescribed medication." He says.

"And this." He adds handing Donna some sort of syringe. "Treat it like a cure. The same way someone with acting up allergies uses their antidote. When your heart is acting up, you know the usual seizures or shocks...just stab yourself in the chest with this and call 911."

"Thank you Dr Collins." Donna says taking all the medicine.

"Your welcome and remember check ups every Monday and Friday." He says as the two ladies exit the room.

"Mum?"

"Yes honey." She answers drying her tears.

"Where's dad?"

"Working. You know how he is." She says and Alesia nods.

"Of course." Alesia say as they leave the hospital and get into the car, a sad silence filling it as non of them reallY know what to say to each other.

+

When Alesia opens the white marble doors of her home. She comes face to face with streamers and confetti falling to the ground, as well as a colourful banner written 'welcome home Alesia'. The banner isnt well coordinated so the letters get smaller as they go.

Somehow this awful looking banner makes her smile. She hears the door open she looks towards the kitchen.

Then Eric walks out a cake with lit candles in hand, making his face glow as he approaches Alesia.

"You shouldn't have." She says tears threatening to surrender and pour out.

"Don't thank me it was all your m..."

"Dads idea." My mum interrupts. "Too bad he wasn't here to see it pan out." She smiles.

"Yes a pity." I say as Eric walks towards me and I blow the candles out.

As we eat cake and laugh. I turn to my mum.

"Mum."

"Yes dear."

"Doctor Collins said I have less than ten months to live." Alesia states and Eric lifts his brow.

"You not making it past this year?" Eric asks becoming pale and she nods.

"Without a heart. No I'm not." Alesia responds.

"Yes Alesia and what's you point?" Her mother asks her.

"Well he said I should do what I want to do in the mean time."

"And?" She asks.

"Well I want to go back to school." She finally spits out and her face goes pale as well as Erics.

"Honey I don't think that's wise."

"Yeah Alesia listen to your mother." Eric says.

"It's my last year can't I just be happy for once instead of the constant medical checkups and surprise visits from specialists. We already got Dr Collins we moved to London cause of him and even he can't do anything without a donor. So please mum let me live my life. I'm damn tired of living like it's not mine." Alesia says and tears soon escape her eyes.

"Okay honey I'll talk to your dad about it." She says and Alesia gets up and hugs her.

"Thank you mum. Thank you so much." She shouts in delight and Donna nods.

"For you my darling, anything." She says kissing my forehead.