Mark's POV
"What should I get for Jackson's Christmas present?"
"Give him your ass, he'll be real happy." Dr. Kim smiles and nods his head.
"I can't give him my butt!" I protest.
"Yes. Yes you can." Jinyoung smirks.
I've been in the hospital for 5 months now. I wanna go home! Christmas is in a few days, I wish I could go home for Christmas.
"Can I go home doc?" I turn to the tall, dark haired man.
"Of course. When you get up and walk all on your own and when you can take a deep breath without wincing, you're free to go home." Dr. Kim smiles at me kindly.
"That's not fair!" I yell.
I can probably walk but my chest hurts real bad when I breath. Today, my chest feels worst than ever.
"You should be happy. You get to do your favorite thing: nothing." Jinyoung stares at me knowingly.
"Whatever. I rather be with Jackson than here. No offense Dr. Kim." I grumble.
"None taken. I rather be with my husband than be here but, work is work. And work equals money." Dr. Kim shrugs.
He reminds me of Tammy when she kicked me out and broke my guitar.
"You're married? I would've never..." Jinyoung looks at Dr. Kim shocked.
"What? I'm ugly? I don't care what you think, I'm sexy in my eyes." Dr. Kim runs his hand through his hair.
I laugh. Dr. Kim is awesome.
"No. It's just..you're so young."
"And Mark is 24 and this innocent, the world and it's inhabitants are strange beings." Dr. Kim retorts.
"I'm a good boy!" I smile.
"You sure he doesn't have little space?" Dr. Kim asks Jinyoung. The two of them stare at me from across the room.
"I'm sure. That's just the way he is since I met him." Jinyoung responds.
"Mark!" The door to my room bursts open.
I jump from the sudden female voice.
In the doorway to my room, my beloved big sister, Tammy Tuan, stands with glaring eyes and her arms crossed. Her black dress and her hair pushed into a bun, she sure is intimidating.
"Oh..uhh...hey sis." I smile at her weakly. This is awkward.
"What are you doing here, bitch?" Jinyoung glares at her.
"No one wanted to tell me about your accident?" Tammy walks towards me.
"I thought you wouldn't care." I answer quietly.
"We're family Mark, how can you not call your sister and tell her about the accident you were in?"
"You're one fucked up sister." Jinyoung scoffs.
"Mind your business, Park. If you two could kindly leave, me and my brother have some private matters to deal with."
Jinyoung tries to argue but I stop him.
"Just go. It's only a talk." I reassure him.
Jinyoung and Dr. Kim leave the room with unsteady eyes. Once the door is closed, Tammy and I only stare at each other.
I haven't seen her in months and here she is, glaring daggers into my soul.
"Nice to see you too Tam." I laugh nervously.
"How did you get hit by a truck?"
"I don't remember. I lost my memory of that day."
"How are you paying to stay in the hospital? How are you going to work in these conditions? When are you going to pay the debt? When are going to start acting like an adult? You can't stay like this forever Mark, like a kid. A dumb naive kid."
My heart stings from her words. My chest hurts.
"Are you going to keep up this act?"
"What act? This is how I am."
Why is she saying all this stuff? Why is she so mean?
"Bullshit. How can someone be so innocent and stupid? It's ridiculous. I know damn well you're not that nice, you act so helpless and pathetic when you know you can do better. Why pretend Mark?"
"I'm not pretending!" I finally snap. "Sure, I fake my happiness but what else am I supposed to do? If I just sit and say my life is terrible, where would that get me?"
"It'll make people respect you more. The only reason you have friends is because you're cute and naive. You have this 'energy' that gives people light but your really dying on the inside." Tammy's eyes burn with anger.
"Shut up! That's not true! I'm very happy with my life right now. It's not perfect and that's what makes it great. I know I have my flaws Tammy, but that doesn't mean I'm not happy. I'm trying to fix my flaws unlike you. You're attitude has gotten worst."
"My attitude? Please." She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear "You're still the same spoiled brat you always are." Tammy laughs.
"Is this why you're so mad? Because of how mom and dad treated me?" I'm starting to understand why she's so upset.
"They treated you like you were the icing on a cake: the star, the highlight of their lives. They gave all their attention to you and left me in the dirt. When they died, so did my silence." Tammy's finger fills my eye sight as she vents.
"You know in their will, they gave all their money and land to you. But you didn't come to court, so I took it. And I started a family of my own and I made both of my daughters the stars in my life."
Man...I feel terrible...
"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were hurting. I'm sure mom and dad lov-" I'm cut off by a slap. She slapped me.
Wait a minute. Didn't Mai slap me? She slapped me because I took Jackson away from her right?
As my left cheek burns, the memories of the day of the accident slowly creep back into my memory.
"Shut the hell up. They didn't love me, only you. And that's why you'll pay for that debt by yourself. That's why nobody else in the family wants to deal with you. Feel the neglect I felt." Tammy huffs and fixs her hair after she finishes.
"You're mean." My chest really hurts.
"Didn't hear from you in so long, I thought you were dead."
"You're really mean Tammy. I'm sorry for what I've done." I rest my hand on my chest. It's hard to breath.
"Are you okay Mark?" The tone in her voice shifts. From evil to concerned. Is she a witch or an angel? I don't know anymore.
"No. My chest really hurts. Your words...were mean. You're blaming me for our parents actions. It's just too much." I wheeze.
Another scary thing about today is that slap brought back the memories of the accident. I'm a thief. I stole mom and dad's love from Tammy.
It really is my fault. If I weren't born than Tammy would've been loved. If I weren't born Mai could've had Jackson. If I weren't born I wouldn't be in all this pain.
But if I weren't born I couldn't eat biscuits...
"What did you do!" Dr. Kim barges into the room. The heart monitor beside me beeps violently.
"Stay with me Mark! Stay up...." Dr. Kim's words become muffled as I start to drift off. I feel my back hit my bed.
I really can't hear anything. All I can hear is Tammy's words.
Am I fake? Am I dumb and pathetic? Does Jackson think of me that way? I suck.
"Biscuits..." My voice is breathless.
"Biscuits? That's good, he can talk." Dr. Kim and nurses hoist me onto a gurney.
"Jackson..." I mumble as the gurney turns down a hallway. I see a very familiar figure that rushes over to me.
"What happened?" That's the sweet voice of Jackson.
Dr. Kim says something but I can't really hear him. My mind is elsewhere.
Jackson holds my hand before I'm wheeled away. His sad face is cute. But I don't want him to be sad, so I smile as best as I can.
I'm wheeled away to a familiar room. An oxygen mask is put over my face before I can even register my surroundings.
Slowly, I slip into la la land once the gas fills my nose and the last thing I remember is Tammy's piercing words and Jackson's sad face.
Aww poor Mark :(
Will he be okay?
Thanks for reading!
Baaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyiiiiiiiieeeee