Love Between Sisters

Chapter 10

Mother's Love

Note: Hey everyone, I wanted to apologize for updating late. Apparently, Microsoft had its annual update that gave my computer an stroke to where I couldn't use it all. However, everything should be back to normal so I hope you enjoy the chapter.

That night was probably the best sleep Ruby ever got. She slept right next to her mother as the two of them stayed warm in each other's embrace. Yang decided to sleep on the chair just across the room. For her, she was so glad to see Ruby this happy. She was even happier to see her mother this happy. Every time she came here to visit, her mother kept a strong front, but it was obvious that there was something keeping her sad. Now, that happiness she was looking for was right next to her. Ruby was her happiness.

When morning came around, they all woke up at around the same time and greeted each other with a good morning.

"Good morning, sweety."

"Good morning mom."

"Hey Ruby, I know we just woke up and all, but I'm really hungry right now. Would you mind heading down to the cafeteria and grabbing some food for me?"

"Okay. Is there anything that you want?"

"Anything will do. Be sure to grab food for three."

"No, just two. I'm good Ruby."

"Oh yeah… Be sure to grab the chocolate chip cookies. I know you'll love them."

"Okay. I'll be right back." Ruby stepped out of the room and gave Yang and her mother some time alone. Right as the door closed, Summer reached into the drawer right next to her bed and pulled out an envelope. "Yang, I think it's time that we talk."

"Alright." She pulled her chair close to the bed and opened her ears. "What's up?"

"I need you to take this. Everything you need is in there. If anything ever happens, just open it up and you'll be fine. I promise."

"Why are you giving this to me now?"

"My time has come."

"No… No, you can't talk like that. You've been fighting this whole time. There's no reason for you not to get through this."

"You're old enough for me not to have to hold back, but I stay strong in front of Ruby. Seeing her after all of these years has completed me. My job as a mother is over finally."

"What are you saying?"

"Yang… I'm tired. You know this. You're probably putting that thought in the back of your mind, but it's true. A mother has the strongest will in the world, but after seeing her children happy and healthy in my condition, it's almost like an arrow to the heart. There's nothing more that I can do."

At that moment, Yang dipped her head. She had to face the truth of the situation. However, this couldn't be a sad ending. The both of them have been doing everything that they could for these past few years and now, it's finally time to part ways. Yang grabbed her mother's hand and looked her in the eyes. Summer's eyes were wavering and her hand was shaking.

"Thank you for all of your hard work."

"Just take good care of my little rose. She deserves it."

"I will. I promise."

About a minute went by until Summer decided to speak up once again.

"Anyway… I've only asked about Ruby's life. Tell me what's been going on with you ever since you've been with Ruby."

…

When Ruby got the cafeteria, there were so many things going through her head. There was so much food as well as a whole bunch of people in multiple conditions. Thankfully, they all looked very happy. After scanning the place, she got in line and grabbed everything that looked good to her. Once her tray was filled, she was about to head back when a certain caught her attention.

The girl looked to be the same age as her. She was a redhead and she was sitting in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, she was all by herself. Everyone else that was in the cafeteria had people to sit next to. This sight broke her heart so she decided to stop by just for a few minutes. Once she got to the table, she set her tray down and looked at the girl.

"Hello. I'm Ruby. What's your name?"

The girl in the wheelchair slowly looked up and saw Ruby sitting right in front of her.

"My name?"

"Of course. Who else would I be talking to?"

"Oh… I'm Penny. It's… It's nice to meet you."

"Penny? That's a cute name. How old are you?"

"I'm 16."

"Hey, you're the same age as me."

"Cool." At that moment, there was a bit of an awkward silence, but the girl managed to come up with something to try and ease the tension. "So what are you in here?"

"Me? Oh, I'm just a visitor. My mom is the one who's being hospitalized. What about you? You look pretty healthy."

"I… I'm in a wheelchair."

"So you just got a leg injury and can't use them for a while?"

"More like, ever. I've been paralyzed from the waist down."

"Oh… Oh my… I'm terribly sorry to hear that."

"It's alright. I know this may sound weird, but I'm sure this happened for a reason."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I'm been running my entire life. Whenever something came up that I didn't want to do or that it scared me, I tried to run away. I didn't care who or why I did it. I just did it. Eventually, that got me where I am now. I just think life's telling me to hold my ground and take life as it comes. Maybe you sitting with me is the first step to my new life."

"Wow. That's very inspiring."

"Thank you. I do have a lot of time to myself so it gives me plenty of time to reflect on things."

"You don't have any friends here?"

"Not really. People here come and go so it's pretty difficult to get acquainted with others."

"Well, the two of us have been acquainted so we can be friends."

"Okay. I would like that a lot." The two of them stuck out their hands for their first handshake. Immediately after that, they broke out into a long conversation that nearly lasted an hour. However, it didn't even seem to last that long. The girl had so many interesting things to say to Ruby that Ruby didn't feel right leaving without knowing everything about this girl. However, when she looked at the clock and realized how long she was away, she had to leave. She thanked the girl for her time and headed back up to her mother's room.

When she got there, she saw Yang standing outside the door. Doctors were making their ways into her room which made her curious.

"What's going on? I brought the food."

"Mom's going into surgery right now so we'll have to wait."

"Oh, alright."

At that moment, the doctors wheeled Summer out of the room. Ruby and her managed to make eye contact and smiled at each other. Then they wheeled her down the hall to the OR section of the building. That's when Yang came up behind Ruby and put her hand on her shoulder.

"I think we should wait in the lobby until she's done."

"Okay."

The wait definitely felt long for the both of them. To pass the time, Ruby couldn't help but eat all of the food that she grabbed which was intended for both her and her mom. During their wait, neither one of them talked. They didn't really know what to talk about. Yang knew what this surgery was about, but Ruby stayed silent without any knowledge of what was going on.

Only about an hour went by when a doctor entered the lobby and asked them to follow him. He took them back to Summer's original room, but refrained from going inside upon their arrival.

"How's my mom? Can we see her now?"

"Ruby…" Yang suddenly put her hand on her shoulder. "I think you need to listen to what the doctor has to say." Yang took a deep breath for she knew what was coming.

"I am terribly sorry to tell the both of you this, but your mother has moved on."

"… What does that mean? Yang, what does he mean?" She looked at Yang who had her eyes firmly shut. "What do you mean?"

"During her surgery, her heart suddenly stopped without any signs of restarting. The only way we can explain this to you is that she lost the will to live."

At that moment, Ruby pushed the doctor to the side and ran inside of the room. There, she saw Summer lying on the bed. She couldn't hear any breathing or see any movements. She slowly took small steps towards the bed until she was right next to her mother.

"Mom? Don't joke like this. Wake up… Please."

"Ruby." Yang came up behind her wrapped her arms around her body.

"Mom! Nooo! Please wake up!"

"Ruby, we need to go." Yang pulled her away from the bed and out of the room. That's when Ruby lost it. She started to scream like a maniac, demanding that Yang let her go. Unfortunately, Yang couldn't listen to her. She didn't want Ruby to see her mother in that condition any more than she already did. She kept a firm grip on Ruby's body as she continued to break free of Yang's hold. "Ruby, please calm down," she whispered.

"Mom! Please come back!"

End of Chapter 10