“Vivian’s mother was diagnosed with leukemia, and she panicked for a bit. I’m going to get her now.”
“Leukemia? How?” The old man was shocked to hear the news. “How serious is it? What did the doctor say?”
“I’m not sure. She wasn’t able to say much else because she was crying.”
“That poor child. After a shell-shocking revelation, God deals her a sh*tty hand again.” The elder Mr. Norton waved Finnick off hurriedly. “Well, off with you. She’s all alone, and she’s probably panicked herself half to death.”
“I’ll see you soon, Grandpa.” With that, Finnick strode out of the study with Noah in tow.
“Wait.” The elderly man seemed to recall something and caught Finnick right before he opened the door.
“Grandpa, is there anything else you need?”
With a slightly sheepish glance at Finnick, the elder Mr. Norton bade Noah leave the room beforehand.
Noah nodded in understanding and went downstairs to wait instead.
Finnick gave the old man a puzzled look. What is Grandpa up to? What is it that Noah can’t hear?
The elder Mr. Norton hesitated briefly before speaking. “I think you and Vivian should be a bit more… mindful, given the current circumstances. A pregnancy is the last thing you both need in the face of something like this.”
Finnick noticed that the old man had a faint blush on his cheeks. Samuel Norton was truthfully quite embarrassed at needing to discuss this with someone younger. But how could he refrain when Vivian had already gone through so much? The poor child could never seem to catch a break.
The warning had made a mess of Finnick’s emotions. He clenched his fists as he recalled the unwelcome image of the four men humiliating Vivian and her loud pleas for help.
Finnick knew that the incident would scar him for life at this rate. Every time he thought of this, he felt his heart break. How would he ever forget?
Sensing the anger that Finnick emanated, the elderly man sighed. These kids have really gotten the short end of the stick.
With some difficulty, Finnick closed his eyes and tried to will the images away. “I understand.”
The elder Mr. Norton hummed in response and patted Finnick on the shoulder. “Well, don’t let me keep you. Vivian is waiting. Also, remember to be nicer to her in the future.”
“I will.” Finnick made the solemn declaration that he would treasure Vivian for the rest of his life as the old man mouthed his approval.
With a final nod towards the elder Mr. Norton, Finnick turned on his heel and walked towards the elevator.
When Finnick got downstairs, he found Noah waiting by the car with the door open. The pair then travelled to the hospital at breakneck speed.
Finnick rushed all the way to Rachel’s ward when a sobbing figure caught his eye. He turned around and wondered if that was actually Vivian.
As he stopped to take a closer look, he then breathed a slight sigh of relief when saw that it was actually her.
Vivian had been so grief-stricken that it took her a while to realize that someone had approached her from the front.
She finally looked up at the fuzzy figure squatting in front of her, but the tears came out more fiercely than before.
With a loud wail, she flung herself into Finnick’s arms as if she’d finally found an anchor.
Finnick held Vivian tightly in his arms as he caressed her back soothingly. “It’s okay, I’m here. Everything will be alright, don’t cry.”
Vivian could only cry harder as she heard Finnick’s gentle voice. “What should I do, Finnick? The doctor said that I might be a possible donor, but what if it doesn’t match? What if I can’t save my own mother?”
“You still have me, don’t you?” murmured Finnick gently. “Believe me. We’ll go through this together. Everything will be alright.
“If yours does not match, then we’ll find a donor who does. Even if we have to go abroad. There are so many people in the world! It would be impossible not to find a match. Don’t worry. I’ll do everything in my power to save your mother, so please calm down, alright?”
