Dilemma

“Eli, are you okay?” I blinked twice and looked at Ana, her eyes have traces of concern, “You’re spacing out, come on, tell me. You’ve been like that since yesterday, spill the hot tea,” she said and sit comfortably on the sofa.

It’s Sunday, and we decided to have a movie date at a nearby mall. It’s been a long week for me, I can feel that Marco is keeping his eye on me, he keeps on asking for tasks I don’t remember I signed off to.

“Yeah, it’s just a chaotic week,” I said and sipped on my lemonade. Good thing, I only wore a puff sleeves dress shirt, paired with mom jeans and white sneakers, I ponytail my hair, since the humidity is no joke.

“What happen, hmm?”

“Well, you see,” I looked at her, and her eyebrow shot up, “I met Grayson a week ago, well he saved me from the bar—”

“WHAT?! What happened?! Who hurt you? Give me his fucking name!”

“Calm down!” I said then looked around, and smile awkwardly, “It’s fine, I’m totally okay now, like what I was saying, we met, and uh, yeah, to make the story short, he introduced himself to Marco as my husband,”

“Okaaaay, then?” She sounded so invested in my story, “So, are you going to live with him? After all, you’re a married couple, weren’t you?”

I shrug, “Not on my mind right now, anyway, then Marco was being a jerk the whole week he is acting like a jealous child, I mean, yes, it may not be a real relationship between me and Grayson, but why would he act like that, right?”

“Well, I mean, yeah? But I’m not interested in him, I’m more interested in my friend, Grayson, who suddenly showed up when you needed him!”

“Ana, our marriage is a big mistake, I didn’t even know why I married him in the first place, wasn’t intoxication a ground for divorce? I mean, we haven’t met since that night,”

“You run away, have you forgotten? And, in my opinion, why don’t you give him a shot, does he push you to end the marriage the moment you met each other?”

I looked at my shoes, “No, he was actually asking why I run away after that night,”

“See? He’s a good man, Eli, but I’m not pushing you to do it okay? Whatever your decision I will be okay with that, even though he is my friend, you’re still my best friend, and I would be the first person to stab him once he did something bad to you,”

I rolled my eyes and chuckled, “Hey, you remember the guy who keeps on asking me out?”

Her forehead creased, then lit up, “Oh! That Andre guy when we were in college? He’s freaking gross, he’s creepy, and his looks?” She rolled her eyes, “Like he was assaulting you in his mind,”

“Yeah, that’s why you stab him in his shoulder? You almost got kicked out from the Uni because of that,”

“Well, he tried to kiss you, wasn’t he?” I chuckled and didn’t answer, because she was right, “Don’t act like innocent, you did the same thing with the basketball player who keeps on bugging me!”

I let out a laugh, “Hey, I didn’t hurt him, I just scared him,”

“You put a freaking voodoo doll on his locker! Not just a doll, but a bloody one! He’s a gay in blood!”

“Well, I didn’t know, he just looked so brave when he was acting in front of you, I wasn’t aware that he’s scared of blood,”

“What happen—” We both stopped when my phone rang, Jane’s name appeared on the caller Id.

“Hello, Jane?”

“Eli! Dan’s passed out, and his nose is bleeding!” I immediately stood up and grabbed my things, “You’ve got to come here!”

“I-I’m on my way, where are you right now?” I’m trying to calm myself, I saw Ana in my peripheral vision, she’s catching up with me.

“We’re on the ambulance right now, he was coughing blood before he passed out, we’re on our way to Silvestre’s Medical,”

I nod, Ana opened the car, and I get in the passenger seat, “I’ll be there in a chunk, don’t panic and wait for me, do you understand?” My voice was shaking, and I want to laugh at myself for asking Jane to calm down in my state, I ended the call, Ana was already maneuvering the car, “I’m sorry, I can’t drive—”

“Shut up and calm down, Eli. You’re shaking, nothing going to happen, calm down,”

The twenty-minute ride feels an eternity, the moment that I saw the hospital entrance, I took off my seat belt, Ana didn’t ask anything and just let me run inside.

“Is there a patient named Dan Marquez, admitted earlier?” The admin immediately browse from her computer, while I was waiting in front.

“Marquez, Dan. Yes, room 705, you may use the elevator on the ride side, it’s on the second floor, fourth door to the left,” She said with a smile.

“Thanks,” I muttered and ran to the elevator. I was tapping my shoes on the vitrified tiles, my eyes were looking at the numbers the admin mentioned.

When I found it, I let out a heavy sigh and opened the door. There, I saw Dan, with an oxygen mask, his vitals are stable, and I can see it on the monitor; Jane was behind him, she fell asleep while holding her notes. She’s in her last term and is currently on her finals.

I moved with so much silence, I don’t want to wake Jane, but it was nonsense, since she already woke up, and saw me.

“Eli,” she muttered, her eyes instantly becoming teary, she went for a hug, “I was so scared, what will happen to Dan? Will he be alright?”

I tried to smile, as fragments of memories came to me, this was the exact scene that happen to my mom before she was diagnosed with cancer.

“He will be alright,” I said, “Rest for now, I’ll talk with the attending doctor,” she nods and say nothing.

I used that chance to exit the room and look for the attending doctor, it was someone I knew back when we were studying.

“Ms. Marquez,” Dr. Ferrer address me after he sat on his swivel chair, we were now inside his office, “I’ll be straight to the point, your brother might have the same disease as your late mother has,”

My world was wrecked.

In just a snap, all the little hope that I was holding vanished into thin air.

“But the good thing is, the symptoms appeared as early as now, and it is still curable,”

I blinked twice, “I-it is? W-what can we do to stop it as fast and early as possible?”

“He will undergo an operation, then treatment, we are still unsure of how fast this method will take, but what I can assure you is that, there is a ninety percent chance that he will get through this,”

My face lit up, and my heartbeat doubled, “Do whatever you can, I, how much do I need to provide for the operation?”

“This is a rare case, so we will be needing external doctors, at least, five million, for the initial payment, all other details will be given to you a day before the surgery, will that be alright with you?”

I don’t have that kind of money— “Yes, do everything you can to save him, I’ll take care of what you need,”

TWO HOURS.

I’ve been staring out the window of the hospital, after that talk with the doctor, everything.

“Hey,” I heard Ana’s voice and a familiar bean scent filled my nostril, “Take this coffee first,” She said.

“Will that be alright with you, Ana?” I asked again. The moment she asked me what happened, I told her everything, “I’ll pay you back, just, just give me time,”

“Oh come on, what do you take me for, huh?” Her voice has traces of annoyance, “I can do something to help, and you’re making it like you owe me something you should pay for, aren’t we friends?”

“That’s your well-earned money, Ana. I can’t just take that every time I have this kind of situation, you always help me with this kind of thing,”

“What’s the matter with that?”

I sighed, “Alright, there’s no problem with that,” She rolled her eyes and chuckled.

“That’s what I’m talking about, I have to go for now, call me whenever you need me, okay? I’ll drop by after my appointment today,” I nodded, she gave me a peck and left.

I sighed. My job won’t be enough to suffice the hospital’s needs and incoming bills, I need to find another side hustle that will help me meets the end.

How can I— I halted when I remember something, I gulped, It’s not a good idea, but I think it is a job I can do.

I fished my phone and dialed a number, it didn’t ring trice before he answered it.

“Grayson Spencer,”

“This is Elina, can we meet?”