"Thank you." Her mother took the forms and looked at the bill. Her face elongated and she sighed. She sure had a lot of money to raise in order to keep the drug dealers out of her life and to pay back the hospital bills. She didn't know how she was going to do it either. She had a meager amount cashed in the bank, but with the bills on top of it all, she'd probably have to delve into Lily's college fund to pay off the rest. She told herself that she would stop gambling. She would stop gambling to save her daughter's life.

Lily was grateful that the annoying tubes were out of her and she smiled as the kind male nurse walked out of the door. Her mother looked worried, but she didn't want to talk about what had gone on right now. Instead, she scooted off the edge of the bed and cringed as her bare feet hit the cold vinyl floor.


"For an overnight visit, stomach pump, heart resuscitation procedure, and intensive care, that's sure a hell of a lot of money." Lily bit her lip. She knew her mom was trying to make her feel bad for what she had done. She hadn't realized the extensive state she had put herself in. She hadn't realized how very close to death she had come, and she felt guilty for causing her mother such problems. It's all my fault, she thought, her eyes threatening to spill tears again. Lily looked around for her clothes, which she found in a neat pile on the shelf underneath the TV. Her pants were bloodstained, but she didn't care. The blood hardly showed up on the black fabric anyways. She pulled them on, took off the papery hospital gown and then put on her black tank top. She slipped her feet into her shiny black mary janes which she always wore. They were her favorite shoes.

"Ready?" Her mother asked, standing up from the chair with the paperwork in her hands. Lily nodded and held back tears. She was mad at her mom, but she loved her mom and felt like this entire thing was her fault. She felt like it was her doing that caused her mom to have a gambling problem because business wasn't good and they were on a tight budget. She felt like it was her fault for whatever problems her mother had with that scary man, and it was her fault that she was here, making her mother pay more money that they didn't have to the hospital that had revived her.

They walked in silence down the hall to the elevator and rode it all the way down to the front lobby. When the heavy metal doors opened, they saw people panicking and yelling here and there, and Lily wondered what had happened.

Although worried about what the problem was down here, Diane proceeded to the front desk and handed the signed paperwork to the nurse there. "What's all the fuss about?"

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