Chapter 44
Jayden immediately agreed after hearing my plea. “I only have thirty thousand dollars on hand right now. I’ll send it all to you immediately and figure out how to borrow the rest.” Jayden knew that aside from my workplace and Sophia, my social circle was nonexistent. That’s why he offered to help me borrow the money.
A wave of warmth rose in my chest, and I mumbled a quiet “thank you.” Just twenty minutes later, the taxi I’d hailed stopped outside Mom’s home. I had gathered the money needed.
As I stepped out, I noticed a crowd gathered downstairs, whispering among themselves.
“Why would someone jump from a building?” “At her age, what could drive her to this?” “Ferlyn got scammed out of a lot of money. She couldn’t repay it, and the debt collectors came knocking.” “How much was she scammed out of?” “Not sure, but I heard her house had already been mortgaged.”
Jumping from a building? Scam? Debt collectors? The fragments of conversations hit me like a punch in the gut, a terrible foreboding clawing at my chest. My breathing quickened as I forced myself forward, desperate to see if the person surrounded by the crowd was Mom.
Just then, Linda Tyrell, my mom’s closest friend, turned to face me. Her eyes were swollen and red, her voice choked with sobs. “Joshua, you’re here. Your mom… She…”
Linda couldn’t finish her sentence. She lowered her head and sobbed quietly.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at the person lying on the ground. Instead, I turned to Linda and asked, “Where’s my mom? Where did she go?” “She… she jumped. I know this is hard for you, but you must stay strong. The living have to keep going. Your mom… she would want you to live well.” By the time she finished speaking, her sobs had overtaken her.
Upon hearing those words, the crowd around me parted silently to clear a path. I raised my head, and at that moment, I saw her. Mom lay not far from me, a pool of crimson blood spreading beneath her, a striking sight against the dull gray of the pavement. She lay there unmoving and deathly pale. Her body was a disheveled and lifeless mess.
My tears fell in heavy drops, my mind completely blank as I stared at the motionless figure on the ground. “M–Mom,” I croaked, my voice breaking, “Why are you lying there? Get up! Please, just get up! I’ve borrowed the money. We can pay off the debt…”
But there was no response. The crowd’s murmurs had faded at some point, leaving the world eerily quiet. My mom remained motionless on the ground, her stillness deafening. My lips quivered, my entire body trembling uncontrollably as I stumbled forward, falling to my knees beside her. Reaching out with a shaking hand, I gently nudged her arm.
“Mom, don’t sleep here. The ground is cold. Please, get up,” I whispered.
No one answered me. It felt as if someone had driven a blade straight into my chest, the pain so sharp it hurt to even breathe. “M–Mom,” I tried to call out to her, but all that came was a hoarse sob. My body trembled uncontrollably as I tried to lift her, but my legs refused to hold me steady.
“Mom, I got the money. Why didn’t you wait for me?”