Lily wasn't expecting three people to enter the room after her mom had called for a nurse. Two of them looked like they worked here, a female nurse and a younger, blonde-haired boy who could possibly be another nurse as well. As he checked in her IV fluids, she looked up at him and noted that he was sort of cute. But there was another man with dark hair who sat down in the chair next to her mother, and he caught her attention the most. He wore dark clothing and had penetrating eyes. Lily looked over at her mom, whose jaw was set tight. Where they having problems with their insurance company? Lily felt awkward lying there while there was obviously a large tension in the room.

Diane smiled nervously at the "insurance" man. She knew what he was here for. She knew she hadn't paid fully for her last set of meds, and oh, how that had come back to kick her in the face! Her daughter was now coming back from a near-death experience, and she had this guy to deal with because money was tight at these times. She secretly wished the intern would stay here because frankly, this young man scared her. She had no idea what was up his sleeve, and she knew she was in for it too. She had gone a long time without paying for her drugs. She just wished her daughter wasn't here to listen in on their conversation. She waited patiently for the intern to leave and the man to speak to her first.

Lily didn't like the looks of the dark-haired man. He had a caustic voice and she feared for what sort of predicament her mother was in with the insurance company. She hadn't heard her mother complaining about it before, so some new problem must have arisen. Lily just wanted to get out of here. Her thoughts of leaving soon grew ever the more prominent as the dark-haired man whipped out a gun and pointed it at her hand. Her eyes were wide and she couldn't stop staring at the gun. This surely wasn't an insurance agent. They don't carry guns on them. Her heartbeat quickened. She was scared for her mother and herself. She felt her eyes burning with tears.

Diane's fists clenched and her lips pursed. "Don't you dare hurt my daughter." She stared back at the man that was pointing the gun at her only child, and she didn't want to get close to losing her again. "I can get the money to you. I swear." Her eyes were beginning to tear. She didn't want to put her daughter in a dangerous situation, but it seemed like her business with these drug dealers had gotten her into more trouble than she had ever imagined.

Lily flinched as the man cocked the barrel of the gun, and she kept looking back and forth between the man, her mother, and the door. She wanted to press the button on the side of the bed to call the nurse again, but she knew if she moved, it would be death for her. Funny thing, how she had wanted to die so bad a day ago, but now when the threat of a gun was shoved in her face, she didn't want to go. At least she didn't want to go in this manner. She would have preferred a calm death, but that hadn't worked out so well.

"I can pay. I can pay. Just don't hurt her." Diane pleaded, almost rising up from her chair, but she kept her rear seated. She didn't want to push this man to shoot anyone, especially not her daughter. "We've just been having tough times, that's all. Tough times.

Lily could see the tears brimming over the edge of her mother's eyes. She hadn't seen her mother cry often, and it made her ever them more uneasy. What sort of money did her mom owe this guy? What was this all about? Had her mom been keeping secrets from her for months, years? What was going on?

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"Singing is like the celebration of oxygen." --Bjork