Chapter 354: Are You Sure You Want to Help Him?
Having been neighbors for over two years, Risa was very familiar with Sherry’s family situation.
She prescribed medicine without needing to make a house call.
But when it came time to pay, Sherry found herself in an awkward position.
"I just got paid yesterday, so I should be able to pay you. But my dad came back..."
Risa didn’t need her to finish; she knew Sherry had been beaten again.
’Look at how swollen her eyes are.’
Perhaps it was because they were both women. Although Risa’s life was also hard, she understood Sherry.
"Let’s talk about it next time. You can take the anti-inflammatories too. They’ll help you heal faster. Hurry back and get some rest."
Sherry thanked Risa and returned to the basement. She pried open Damien Vaughn’s mouth and forced the medicine down his throat.
Worried that the medicine would hurt his stomach since he hadn’t eaten in so long, she soaked some bread in milk, mashed it into a paste, and forced that down his throat as well.
After bustling about for a good while, she finally collapsed onto her bed.
Maybe it was the debt weighing on her mind, or maybe she was worried Damien would die in her basement.
Normally, once Sherry fell into bed, she wouldn’t want to get up. But today, she woke up again before dawn.
She tossed and turned in bed until daybreak, then took a flashlight and went to the basement.
The guy wasn’t dead, but he wasn’t exactly alive either. He was still in that same half-dead state, just lying there.
Sherry forced more medicine into his mouth, mashed up yesterday’s leftover half a loaf of bread and half a bottle of milk into a paste, poured it down his throat, and then left for work.
Today, someone was coming to inspect the shop. Because Sherry was an undocumented resident, she would be treated as an illegal immigrant if caught, so her boss let her off work two hours early.
She didn’t get a chance to grab any more milk or bread, so she went home, cooked some congee, and stir-fried some vegetables. After she and her mother ate their fill, she took some to the basement.
This time, Damien finally reacted.
As soon as Sherry pulled back the curtain covering the corner window of the basement, her eyes met his.
In all the time she’d been tending to him, this was the first time she’d seen Damien with his eyes fully open.
And she had to admit, he had a pair of very beautiful eyes.
"You’re awake? Are you feeling any better?"
She reached out to feel Damien’s forehead, only to find it was as hot as ever.
"Why are you still so hot? Do you feel any better at all?"
He didn’t. Damien felt like he was dying.
His head ached. His bones ached. Every single part of his body was in pain.
Before, he had been drowsy and just wanted to sleep. But since sometime today, he hadn’t been able to sleep for a moment. The pain was so excruciating he wished he were dead.
But he couldn’t speak. He could only stare with his eyes at this thin, weak, sallow-faced, grimy girl with dark circles under her eyes.
"Don’t tell me your wounds are infected, are they? This is so annoying! You’re nothing but trouble for me!"
Sherry met his gaze. Despite her complaints, she still said,
"Stop staring at me. Do you have any money on you? I’ll go get a doctor for you."
Damien had money. Lots and lots of money. But...
"Judging by the state you’re in, you probably don’t have any money."
After saying that, Sherry patted him down. As expected, she didn’t find a single coin.
"Whatever. Eat first."
Without another word, she pulled Damien up again, pinched his mouth open, and poured the now-cool congee mixed with vegetables into his mouth.
Damien didn’t know about anything else, but he could feel his tonsils were swollen.
Forget swallowing; even breathing felt like razor blades scraping his throat.
He really didn’t want to eat, but this girl truly had no idea how to be gentle.
By the time he finished the bowl of congee, Damien was drenched in sweat.
Sherry gave his face a cursory wipe.
"This place is too damp. It’s not good for a sick person like you to keep lying here, but I don’t have any extra bedding for you. It’s up to your own luck now, so just tough it out. And let me tell you, if you can’t make it, just die sooner rather than later. I’ll drag you out and bury you, and that’ll be that. If you are going to make it, then hurry up and get better. I can’t afford to keep taking care of you like this, let alone hire a doctor."
Damien: "..."
After venting, Sherry went and knocked on Risa’s door again.
"Risa, I have to be honest with you. A couple of days ago, I rescued someone from the side of the road. He’s injured and half-dead, and now he’s in my basement. The fever reducers alone aren’t working. Can you come with me to take a look at him?"
Risa was nearly scared to death by her.
"Have you forgotten your own situation? And you’re saving someone else? Is it a man or a woman? Who is it?"
"I don’t know who he is. But he looks like he’s Asian, too. I didn’t want to save him either, but he was right near our house and couldn’t move. I was afraid that if he died there, he’d attract the police..."
Sherry was twenty years old. She had come to Rivia with her parents during the summer after she graduated from junior high at fifteen. At the time, they were just there for a vacation.
Her father had heard that a friend had made a fortune doing business there and wanted to seek his own opportunities, but he ended up being scammed by that friend.
In just half a month, her parents’ entire savings were cheated out of them. Their IDs, passports, and everything else were also taken by the friend.
Her father was a man from a small rural village. Back then, her mother had gone against everyone, willing to break ties with her own family to marry him. Because of this, they were completely alone after going bankrupt.
Her father was terrified his brothers-in-law would look down on him, and her mother was too ashamed to go back to her family for help. So the family of three struggled on here.
At first, her father reported it to the police and frequently checked on the progress. But later, he fell into alcoholism and gambling and completely lost interest in the matter.
None of them had jobs. They survived for a while on her mother’s jewelry. As time went on, they naturally all became undocumented residents.
Her mother, a pampered lady from a rich family who had never had to lift a finger in her life and had never worked a day, became a waitress in a restaurant for her father’s sake. She even went to dance in clubs.
But even so, her father wasn’t grateful.
He blamed her family for looking down on him, which he claimed was why he wanted to get rich quick and came here in the first place.
He blamed her for only giving him a useless daughter.
He blamed her for becoming rougher and uglier. He even started hitting her, and after that, her mother’s mental health began to decline.
From then on, their lives spiraled downward. Sherry was pushed out by her father to take her mother’s place at work, leading her to where she was now.
"If the police come and see my mom in her condition, they’ll definitely take her away. And our house will be taken back, too..."
The house they were living in now belonged to an elderly man nearby. It was an abandoned house from many years ago that was originally slated for demolition.
Her father heard about it from some gambling buddy and rented it for a very cheap price.
If the police found out and they lost this house... Sherry couldn’t afford rent anywhere else.
Faced with the pitiful Sherry, Risa could only sigh.
"I’ll go take a look. I’ll help if I can, but if it’s too serious, just leave him be. You’ve already done your best, anyway. If he really dies, you can’t be blamed. God won’t hold it against you."
Risa grabbed her medical kit and followed Sherry to the basement.
The moment her eyes landed on Damien’s face, she let out a gasp.
’What a handsome man.’
It was just a pity he was so severely injured.
"He must have been in a car accident. A lot of his bones are broken."
"What? A lot of his bones are broken?"
Risa prodded him in several places. Judging from his reactions...
His left ribs, his left shin bone, and his right shoulder blade were all likely injured.
"Other than anti-inflammatories and painkillers, I can’t help him. He needs to take them every day for at least a month. Sherry, are you sure you want to save him?"