Sinful Mates 1-3 novel Chapter 4

　　“The merger document?” I ask, peering at his computer screen. He nods his head, and I hit print before walking back to the printer. His document prints out and I staple it before handing it to him.

　　Theo stands there watching me, his intense gaze making me feel uncomfortable, but I can’t look away. He suddenly turns and walks out. I instantly take a breath of air, not realising I was holding my breath. I make my way back to my desk. Theo has been acting weird the last week. I have caught him staring more times now than I can count.

　　Tobias has been on edge lately as well, I heard them arguing over something the other day. I tried to tune it out as best I could as their relationship is none of my business, but it makes it a little awkward and tense around the office.

　　The day goes by quickly. Tobias remained in his office all day in one of his moods. The only time I heard from him was when I transferred calls to his phone line. Before I knew it, it was 5:30 PM. Mr Kane and Mr Madden left at 5:00. I finished shutting everything down before switching the lights off and heading to the carpark. Once at the carpark, I grabbed my phone charger and some warm clothes to change into and piled everything into my bag.

　　I had to be back at my car before Tom locked up. Tom worked a few hours of a morning and then came back at night to empty the bins and scrub the floor before locking up the carpark at 9:00PM. Giving me plenty of time to visit my mother before heading back.

　　Walking through the empty parking lot, I came out on the ground floor level, on the park side. Cutting through the park I head towards the big blue neon Sign that sat atop the hospital across from Kane and Madden Industries. Mater Hospital. Every day I walk over to check on her. Making my way to the second floor, I head to the wards. Room Eighteen, bed five.

　　My mother has been here for just over three months. I take a seat in the sterile room. I hate hospitals, they always smell of hand sanitiser, and this particular ward reeks of death. No, my mother hasn’t got some debilitating chronic illness. My mother Lila Riley is in a coma.

　　My mother was driving home from work at a local bar. A drunk driver ran a red light, smashing into her. Her car was a total write off, and she had to be cut from the vehicle. She has been in a coma ever since. The doctors say she is brain dead, that the only thing keeping her alive are the machines she is hooked up to.

　　The hospital said they can keep her alive and hope to see some change even though it would be a miracle. I have managed to push it to nearly four months now, after I appealed their decision to turn off life support. I am still waiting to hear back from the Medical Ethics Council. I know it is a battle I will lose. But for now, it has brought me more time with her.

　　It is only a matter of time before they pull the plug on her and tell me I have to say goodbye. This is also why I am living in my car. Mum’s medical bills are expensive, and even when it comes the time to switch her off, I will have to live in my car for at least another 2 years before I finish paying it off. My medical insurance covers a dependent child or spouse. My mother didn’t have medical insurance. She worked cash in hand and struggled to keep a job for long.