Chapter 11

Christmas break passed. It didn't turned out well with the Ravdin family. They discovered that Raven had Leukemia. Janice couldn't help but cry about her little daughter's case. She looked so fragile that if someone touched her, she would immediately break. She even wished to have the Leukemia, not her daughter.

That night, Rowie arrived just on time; Raven's doctor came out of the door. He informed them about the child's situation and how her condition was.

It was no good news. They needed to let her stay at the hospital to monitor her condition. If she didn't improve, she needed to stay longer. All they could ever do was listen and stay quiet as the doctor explained the situation and what may happen if she wouldn't take the surgery on time.

Another problem was the money. They didn't know where to get the money for the hospital bills. Janice decided to work at the laundry shop but she knew that it wasn't enough.

Rowie searched for other jobs at night which was at a pet clinic. She loved pet that's why she knew how to take care of them. Good thing the owner was friendly to let her work at night until the morning.

Four hours of sleep this vacation was easy for her. She even pasted posters everywhere to let people know about her business on printing t-shirt and other stuff.

They searched for every business they could get to support Raven. She even tried working on a construction worker. For a skinny girl like her, she's quite tough.

On the other hand, Raven was mature enough to understand the situation. She knew that they needed money. In the end, she let Tristan take care of her while she's in the hospital.

He was fourteen and her friend and playmate. They grew together since they couldn't remember. Her classmates would sometimes visit her when they discovered about her situation. They were mostly her best friends.

They even offered for their parents' support but Raven politely declined. She knew that her Mom and Sister wouldn't be happy if she agreed. The best thing she could do was to become healthy and fight for her family. That's the only thing she could think of.

Rowie sat on the corner of the hospital room and sighed. She couldn't stop thinking about what happened. She was worried and at the same time, guilty. Midorima was her crush. She really liked and idolized the guy. But after what happened, she was ashamed to face him again.

The Basketball camp, she wondered.

Going to the camp was out of the question now because of the circumstances she's in. She couldn't make it in there no matter how much she wanted.

All she could ever do was practice on her own. That's fine. It's better than not practicing at all. She wanted to be stronger than before for the team. She could also use the money that they could get in case.

Rowie sighed again. Here she was, thinking of using the money all by herself. She didn't even thought about her teammates. And also, it's not yet sure if they would win. She wanted to win, though, not only for the team but for her little sister as well.

Tears came rushing like a river down her cheeks. She felt so frustrated and useless. She wanted to take her little sister's pain away but she didn't know how. Even though Raven was smiling, Rowie knew that those smiles were just trying to hide the real feeling she was trying to endure.

That was what's making her feel weak.

She was in deep thoughts when her phone started to ring. She looked at her Mom and little sister who were now sleeping peacefully in the hospital bed. She went out to answer the phone and was surprised to hear Gloria.

"Gloria? What is it?"

"Rowie, you need to go the police station. Your father is right there. I'm on my way, too."

She stopped and hesitated considering Gloria's statement. What was her father doing there? Should she go or let him? It was his fault why he was there in the first place. Why bother going in there? It was nothing to do with her anyway.

"He knew about your little sisters disease and tried to get money by doing illegal things. You need to check him out," Gloria informed her.

"I'll be on my way."

She checked on her Mom and little sister, and then left a note before going. If things were the same, she would just ignore her father. But she wanted to know what was really in his father's mind. She wanted to confirm what Gloria told her.

When she reached the police station, she didn't have a hard time looking for his father. It was late at night and there were only some police inside. Some of them were busy talking on the telephone and some of them were focused on typing something on their laptops.

She saw her father talking to one of the police officers. She ambled near them and cleared her throat. She wished Gloria would be here to make her feel less uneasy and nervous.

"Um, I'm Rowie Ravdin, her daughter."

"Good evening, Miss Ravdin. Please sit down," said the police with a semi-bald hair. He has broad shoulders perfect for a police officer. There's also something in his aura that could scare you just by staring at his eyes.

"What happened?" Rowie asked more on his father. She stayed her gaze at the police instead of her father. When he did not answer, the police did.

"He tried selling illegal drugs and he won't admit. We are asking him since a while ago who are the others but he said he was alone."

"It's true. I'm just by myself. I'm selling illegal drugs so just put me behind bars. You don't have to call her here." James finally spoke after a minute of being silent. Like Rowie, his eyes were in front, avoiding his daughter's eyes.

Rowie glanced at her father who didn't even looked at her for a second. She didn't know what was happening to her father but she was sure he's acting different. He's not the guy who was hurting them that day.

"That won't do, sir. According to the witnesses, you are caught selling with a guy. If we won't pay attention to that, he might continue selling them around. Can you imagine how many more lives will be affected just because of that?"

James didn't answer, again. Rowie was starting to get impatient. Not long after that, Gloria arrived with her nephew, Clyde. She looked at the guy beside Rowie and rage crawled her skin immediately.

Just how much would his father hurt her?