Building Her Throne Burying My Heart (Claire) novel Chapter 8

When I finally came out with the food, I froze. Darleen was lying on the floor by the doorway, completely still.

My heart clenched so hard I could barely breathe. Something was really wrong.

“Mom? Mom, can you hear me?” I dropped to my knees, shaking her shoulder. She didn’t react, but I could see her chest rising and falling. Thank God she was still breathing. My hands were trembling as I called emergency services.

At the hospital, the doctor didn’t sugarcoat anything. “Your mother’s condition can’t wait any longer. We’ve confirmed it’s acute leukemia.” He paused to let it sink in. “I’ve mentioned the possibility before. It wasn’t as bad then, but now things have gotten worse. You’ll need to decide on treatment soon. Chemotherapy can help control it, and later on, a transplant might extend her life.”

I’d known about Darleen’s illness for a while, but I never told her the truth. I’d always let her believe it was just something minor, maybe a part of getting older. She never suspected anything serious.

“Thank you,” I managed. “Can you give me an idea of what the treatment will cost... and what we should expect?”

The doctor gave me a sympathetic look. “It’s going to be expensive. You need to be prepared. You should talk to Baillie in billing. He can explain the details. Right now, our main focus is to stabilize her.”

I nodded. “Okay. I’ll go talk to him.”

After meeting with Baillie, I felt like the ground had vanished from under me. The treatment costs were so much more than I could ever afford. I could maybe cover the first stage if I scraped together everything I had, but after that... I had no idea how I’d manage.

“Think it over,” Baillie said. “You can choose conservative treatment or something else, but please let us know soon so we can make a plan.”

I twisted the edge of my shirt between my fingers. “Alright. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

When I returned to the room, Darleen was awake and already trying to get up. “Let’s just go home. Hospitals are expensive, and I feel fine,” she said, trying to sound strong.

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