Houston, Texas
Nicki folded her clothes, putting them into her drawers as her phone rang. Picking it up, she cleared her throat.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this Onika Maraj?"
Nicki looked at the phone, then put it back up to her ear.
"This is she."
"Hi, Onika. I'm Doctor Oswell from Hudson Hospital," he said.
Nicki's heart dropped. "Is... is everything okay?"
"It's your mom. We need you to come as soon as possible," he said.
"Okay, I'm on my way."
Nicki hung up as tears fell she wiped her eyes and got up, quickly sliding on some jeans and her shoes. Then, she grabbed her keys and went to Caiah's room.
"Caiah, hurry up and put on some shoes. We're leaving," she said.
He nodded and put on his gym shoes. Then, Nicki grabbed a toy for him and they left. She locked the door and they got into the car, driving off.
The ride to the hospital was under five minutes, due to Nicki speeding. They got out and went straight inside and up to her mother's room.
"Is she okay?" Nicki asked.
The doctor smiled. "Fantastic, actually. She had three rounds of chemotherapy. Her last round was Monday. We did another test Tuesday and we discovered something amazing."
"What is it?" Nicki asked anxiously.
"Your mother is cancer free," he said.
Nicki immediately broke down crying.
"Thank you! Thank you so much for saving her!" She cried.
The doctor pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. Nicki finally calmed down and she wiped her eyes, sniffling.
"Is she able to come home?" Nicki asked.
"We'll release her tomorrow. We've been having her walk around with a nurse since Tuesday. It's to help strengthen her bones. She's doing really well. She can walk on her on. We just recommended that she eats a lot of fruits and vegetables as well as protein to help her strength. She should be back to normal in no time."
Nicki nodded. "Why wasn't I aware of this when you first found out that she was cancer free?"
"Well, she didn't want us to tell you until we were all the way sure. She wanted it to be a surprise and- oh! There she is."
Nicki turned around, seeing her mom walk in with a nurse. Nicki started crying again as she hugged her mother.
"Mommy!" Nicki cried.
"I know. I know," Carol smiled, rubbing her back.
Nicki pulled away and wiped her eyes.
"I'm so happy."
"I'll give you all some time alone."
The doctor and the nurse walked out. Carol sat on the bed and smiled at Nicki.
"How do you feel, Onika? You just graduated, you're a model..." She said.
"I feel amazing! How about you? This is great news."
Carol nodded. "I feel relieved, relaxed, stressless."
"That's wonderful, Mommy. I'm sorry I haven't been here to see you since my graduation day."
