Until You

Chapter 3

Jennie climbed the stairs to her apartment, her mind on the fact that she needed to call the agency to tell them she would be taking up more events during the weekdays. She was walking along the corridor and looking for the key when she heard a pained groan. With a frown, she looked up. And then froze.

"Papa!" she shouted and ran towards the front of her house.

Her heart thudded as she knelt next to her father's prone figure. His face was bruised and swollen with a bloody lip. 

"Let's go to the hospital, Papa." She was about to help him up, but her father stopped her.

"No, Jennie. There's no need for a hospital. I'm okay. Just help me get inside."

He was beaten badly by someone, but she couldn't immediately determine his injuries. She helped him up, and unlocked the house, and took him inside before making him lie on the bed.

She then ran into the tiny bedroom and brought out the emergency medical kit.

"What happened, Papa?" she asked, cleaning up the dried blood before she began assessing his injuries.

"I... borrowed money."

"Again! Papa, I've asked you not to borrow money."

Her father's face fell. "I know. But I can't help it."

Jennie knew her father couldn't fight his drinking problem. It was an addiction that began five years ago when Jennie's mother passed away. From a loving, caring and responsible father and husband, her father turned into an alcoholic to cope with the death of his beloved wife.

"They are going to come here tonight, Jennie. They told me if I don't arrange for the money somehow, they are going to kill me." He began to cry.

Her heart sank. He had borrowed money before and met with similar threats. Which meant she would have to help him out of the current mess as she had done before. It would put a dent in her savings. She only hoped it wasn't too much of a dent.

"How much, Papa?"

"It's... it's..." He looked ashamed. Jennie realized why when he told her the amount.

"What!" She was shocked to the core.

"You gambled again!"

Her father started to cry. "I know, I messed up. I'm weak. But I was so sure I would win. I thought I would surprise you by earning ten times the money I bet and give all of it to you."

Jennie shook her head. "I don't want you to help me, Papa. I just want you to stay responsible!" 

"Please get me out of this mess one last time, princess. I promise I'll stop gambling and drinking."

Jennie's heart clenched listening to him call her by her childhood pet name that he and her mother had often used.

She gave a resigned sigh. "I have the money, Papa. It's a little less than what you owe, but it's everything I've saved over the last four years."

Her father looked guilty and shamefaced. "I'll ask them for time to pay the remaining amount. I promise I won't do this again, and I'll get a job to pay back the remaining amount."

The last time her father was in trouble, she had sworn to herself that she would not help him again. But did she really have a choice? Her father was the only person she had in this world, and she loved him. She couldn't bear the thought of someone hurting him.