Allison's pov
"Breakfast is ready". Cindy announced as she gently pushed the door to my room.
"Good morning, Allison. I hope you had a great night?" Cindy asked. Cindy had always been the best and supporting roommate to my sister and I. She was always there for Abby and I ever since we lost our parents to a car accident.
"I had a good night, I was really worked out yesterday but I feel relieved now," I replied with a piece of toast bread in my mouth.
"Yeah I noticed. Do you know Mandy caught her boyfriend cheating?" She announced.
"No way! He has always treated her like an asshole anyways, good riddance" I shoved the last slice of bread into my mouth.
"I know, I feel so sad for her"
"I need to quickly take my bath, so I would make it early to the mansion", I told Cindy while I ran to the bathroom.
I picked up a crumpled blue floral vintage dress from the wardrobe and put it on,actually it was my favorite dress. I packed my hair into a neat bun and I was set for another stressful day.
But first I made a quick stop at Abby's room first before leaving the house.
"Abby, hey! Good morning" I greeted after knocking on her door and pushing the doorknob.
"Hey," she said groggily, her blonde hair was scattered all over her pillow and I chuckled at the sight.
"You are good?" I asked her, taking a seat beside her on her bed. A minute would not hurt and my sister was important
"Uh huh"she replied with a toothy grin.
"Good, I'll be leaving now"
"Allison?" She called out and I turned to her.
"Have a great day at work, and please don't forget to pick up my meds from the pharmacy" Abby replied with her sleepy voice.
I nodded wordlessly before leaving the room.
My relationship with my sister, Abby, was the cornerstone of my existence. Abby, who has been suffering from a chronic illness, lymphoma, relied on me for both emotional and physical support. Despite the challenges we both faced, I always remained optimistic, believing that a better future awaited us.
I really hoped so, I was doing all I could.
"Wait! Please wait!" I shouted at the top of my voice and ran towards the bus stop. But the bus driver didn't hear me, and closed the door.
"No!" Panting, trembling, breathless, I groaned with disappointment. The bus left, when I was just a few steps about to catch it. Now I will have to wait for another 10 minutes for another bus and that will make me get to work late, which had never happened before. I was so worked up from yesterday's stress.
I dug my phone out to text Joseph,one of the workers at the mansion that I will be late to work.
Joseph was the only worker in the mansion that I had a close relationship with, he has been working for Luca for close to ten years. He was in his early thirties and he gave the best advice. He was very smart and humble.
For me, he was the kindest man I have ever met. He always thought of me as his younger sister.
"Finally, the other bus is here". With joy in my heart, I entered and dug my earpiece into my ears. I needed a little distraction and Sia's voice ringing in my ear was therapeutic. I opened the door to the mansion while going through some school emails on my phone when I collided with someone.
"I'm so sorry sir, I'm sorry". I immediately apologized to the boss, Luca Bassinget, one of New York's billionaires, who looked like he was about to rip my head off my neck.
"You should always watch where you are going and why are you late?" He asked with anger burning in his eyes. I have never seen him smile since I've been working here.
It wasn't unrealistic of me to want to see him smile, I just thought it added a little sunshine to the rain, at least that was what my mom always said.
My mom. My stomach sank at the thought of her but I pushed it away.
"I'm sorry… sir, I missed my bus here. So sorry". I sincerely apologized.
"That should never happen again". He said as he stormed out the mansion.
I heaved a sigh of relief, thanking God that he had spared me from the threat of losing my job. The uncertainty had been gnawing at me immediately when I mistakenly collided with him. But now, as I stood near the kitchen table, the weight on my shoulders began to lift. I focused my attention on the tasks at hand, ready to give my best and prove my worth to Luca.
Luca was barely home, he is an Italian business tycoon, and whenever he is home, I always try my best to stay out of his way as he seems scary and always cold around everyone except his sister, Jules, and his best friend, Michael, a popular actor.
Well, maybe the saying was true after all, the rich were always hanging out with the rich, it was an unnegotiable fact.
Before I went for my next job, I cleaned the dishes and cleaned the kitchen counters. I was so tired of going for my next job but I had no choice.
It was already four-thirty in the evening when I left the mansion. I took a bus to the south side of the city where the restaurant was.
"Hi, Mrs. Wang". I greeted my employer. Mrs Wang owned the small restaurant, where I was getting a good source of income but Luca paid me more.
The restaurant was understaffed, so I often work as a waitress and sometimes clean during the closing hour. I couldn't complain since Mrs. Wang was paying me well, yet not as Luca. As I worked from 5 pm till 9 pm from Monday till Friday at the restaurant.
"Hi, Allison". She smiled adoringly at me.
I changed into my uniform and started serving customers as fast as I could.. I cleaned the floor and scrubbed the bathroom before I finally headed home. I was so exhausted.
I grabbed Abby's meds from the nearest pharmacy before going to the bus stop.
I waited seven minutes for the bus heading to Brookhaven, where we rented a small apartment. The moment I was seated on the bus, I ate the food I grabbed from the restaurant. After eating, I leaned my head against the window of the bus and fed my eyes with all the lights and life I could see.
It was only when I felt a tap from the driver who was kind enough to let me know that I had gotten home that I knew I slept off.
Immediately I got home, I packed my hair into a messy bun, too tired to take a shower, I changed into my pajamas and dozed off.
Suddenly I heard Cindy scream my name out of the shock. I woke up rubbing my eyes to clear my hazy vision.
I rushed out of my room to meet Cindy who was bending over Abby. Abby was breathing heavily, her whole body was shivering violently and her eyes were almost turning white, scaring the hell out of me.
"Call an ambulance Cindy!" I shouted, grabbing my sister's hands as they were covered in sweat.
"Shh, calm down baby. Don't worry, we'll call the ambulance . You're going to be fine". I reassured her, sobbing like a baby but I didn't think she could hear me. Her face was contorted in agony.
The paramedics arrived within thirty minutes and I watched helplessly as they placed an oxygen mask on her face and started to take care of Abby.
She was still conscious but barely. They led us into the ambulance and while in the ambulance, a million thoughts flooded my mind. All I kept thinking about was how much I wanted to save my sister, I wasn't ready to lose her..
I remember when my parents used to take care of us as when we were sick and when we were children. That was a long time ago though. It's been a decade since then. They would have handled the situation better than I was doing right now, tears streamed down my face.
Abby was led into the emergency room. Cindy and I kept pacing back and forth while waiting anxiously for the news. I looked around for anything to distract myself but I couldn't find any .
"I hope she's okay" I said with teary eyes.
"She's going to be fine Allison, just be positive," Cindy replied, trying to reassure me even though I could see the fears in her eyes.
I could smell it hanging around her.
Luckily the doctor came out, he was a lanky man with an eye glasses similar to that of Harry Potter's. He told us that she was fine for now and she would be discharged tomorrow. I was so grateful and he urged us to go and see her when gets moved to the general ward.