Act of love

Chapter One

Thank you for choosing to read "Act of love", don't forget to vote!
Enjoy reading...

Anfisa:
"Are you almost ready?" Dalton screams at me, as usual.
It's not my fault women need an hour longer to get ready.
"Almost darling!"
After 5 long days of working, we are finally going out to get some drinks, together. Quality time is just as important for me as for Dalton.
"Woah you look beautiful as always babe," Dalton says with a sparkle in his eyes, as I walk down the stairs.
One day I will walk down the aisle like this and he will have a similar reaction. As I do a quick spin I thank him.
"You look quite handsome yourself young man." He grins at me. .
"You're special you know that An?" Dalton knows how much I love it when he gives me that nickname. My heart beats uncontrollably in my throat.
"Do I still make you nervous after almost 3 years of dating?" He chuckles as he pulls me in by my waist.
"Who? You? Never." I lie. His warm lips press against mine, I can feel him smiling.
"I love you." He mumbles.
"I love you too, ready to get wasted?" I ask pulling away from him. He chuckles as he wraps his arm around my waist again, pulling me in.
"Let's take it easy tonight, I do have an early morning shift tomorrow." A deep long sigh leaves my lips.
"But why? It's the weekend."
"I covered for Kevin, so he can cover for me next Friday. Because next Friday is our three-year anniversary." His lips reach for mine. When I give in to his beautiful soft kiss, I get rewarded with the feeling of love. Never in my life have I been this happy, this all because of one special guy. As a teenager, this was my dream, instead of staying up late at night because I could hear my dad abusing my mom. A sad look appears on my face.
"What's wrong love?" He gently wraps his fingers around my chin, lifting my face to look at him. A warm feeling glides through my body.
"Nothing, let's make tonight a night you will never be able to
forget." Happily, I take his hand and lead him to the door.
Being the real gentleman he is, Dalton opens the door for me.
"Thank you, sir." I respond, walking out like a princess walks out of her kingdom.
Luckily the club is only a short walk from our apartment, the pros of living in a city.
The security guard in front of the bar doesn't even ask for my or Dalton's ID before letting us in.
"Do I look that old?!" I scream through the loud music. Dalton chuckles. Sometimes I forget that I'm 21 and not a little girl anymore. Growing up is hard, especially in my kind of situation where my dad was extremely abusive. But living with Dalton now makes things so special. Like I'm living on a cloud.
"Come on just one drink tonight." I beg while hanging onto the bar. .
"Sweetheart." Dalton cups my face. "You know I have work tomorrow, my boss really wouldn't like it if I show up with a hangover, even if it's light."
"Fine." I reply, rolling my eyes before taking down 2 shots of tequila. I've never been a big drinker, and I definitely don't need alcohol to have fun, but it sure as hell helps a lot.
Suddenly my favorite song plays. Instantly a smile comes to my face and Dalton already knows what I'm planning.
Roughly I pull Dalton with me onto the dance floor.
"Come on baby give me your best moves!" While laughing we dance the entire night away. Not caring about a single thing in the world.
When a slow song comes up I pull Dalton off the dancefloor with me. Completely out of breath I sit down on one of the chairs next to the bar.
"That was amazing, never knew you could dance like that." He smiles.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me."
"Oh? Like what?" The tone in my voice sounds curious.
"About how I'm planning to marry you." He pauses to blow out a sharp breath. "And have kids with you." His warm hand touches my stomach.
"You little flirt."
"Only for you." Softly I pull him into an endless loving kiss.

Zachary
"I'm so sorry sir Wixx, the surgery did not work. Our last option is a heart transplant."
My dad looks devastated, while my mom can't stop crying. They both knew that there would be a chance that I would need a new heart when I'm older. But they didn't expect it to be 24, but rather 60. The risks of heart surgery are high, and since the most recent surgery didn't work. Why would the next one work? I don't allow air to move in or out of my lungs, scared of the possible future surgeries and transplants.
"I promise, you are already at the top of the list because your chance of a critical heart attack is at least 90%. And I will get you up the list more personally if I can." He lowers his hands to his hips.
"I promise sir..."
"We are doing everything we can." I fill in for him annoyed. I am a doctor myself, at this exact hospital, and know the exact protocols we have to follow. My dad squeezes my hand a bit angrily.
"He's just trying to be nice, thank you, doctor." He replies as the doctor walks out of the room.
Sometimes I wish I was born differently, so I wouldn't have caused all this pain my parents go through.
"Mom." My voice sounds numb, numbness, that's all I feel. "I'll be okay if I die." A sob breaks from her chest. Her sobs kill me deep inside.
"Don't say that son, you'll be fine, we will find you a new heart." He speaks as he lays his hand reassuring on mine. My dad tries to motivate me. It does nothing for me. How many times I've heard that it'll all be fine? Every surgery I had as a kid it'll be fine. It's bullshit.
Nothing will be fine, it'll be fine if I end up alone in a box six feet under. I have absolutely nothing to live for. No one to come home to, which isn't a problem for me, I don't believe in love. That might sound stereotypical, but it's the truth. Love isn't real, people use love to hurt each other and I'm not into that. My parents don't like that about me, but it's my life and I'll do whatever I want, for as long as I'm alive.
As my parents leave to grab some coffee, I grab my pure black diary from the desk next to me. Black, like my soul. I snigger softly, my mind isn't kind to me.

Wednesday 13 October 2021
Dear Satan,
Nervously my parents and were waiting in one room, not the first time. We sat like this for days when I was a kid. When I finally thought I would never end up like this again, here I am. Waiting for me to have a fatal heart attack or waiting until someone dies so I can get a new heart. I don't know which option I prefer more.
All of this is making me sound like a really depressed person, but I am more than that. But most people can't seem to look past my depressed part so it became everything I show. As a kid I used to be so much happier, I didn't have to care about a single thing in the entire world. Mostly because I didn't know what my heart disease meant and.
I thought every kid was like me.
But since I became a doctor everything changed, the pressure, the stress, the knowledge, it's all on me. I'm not saying I can't handle it, I can. But facing this pressure 6 days a week for 20 weeks straight became a lot.
I always had heart problems, the name for it is Cardiomyopathy.
A disease of the heart muscle which makes it hard for the heart to pump blood throughout my body. And the pressure of work caused this sudden relapse into sickness. Every doctor told me to be careful, but I said I would be fine.
Now I am earning up to my consequences.

"Zachary." My dad walks in, with the most serious face that I've ever seen him with. "Your mother and I talked about your behavior."
They both sit down at the side of my bed. "We are not happy about it."
Join the club. My mom says nothing, she doesn't even want to make eye contact with me, my own mother. "We both are disappointed in the way you're handling this situation." Disappointment from my parents, great, exactly what I needed.
Sometimes they don't understand I'm not a little boy anymore and I handle things in different ways. Because of this dumb incident, I can't work for a full month! They don't understand how important work for me is.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" My mother asks in a soft and mild voice.
I raise my shoulders to my ears, not knowing what I need to say, what they want me to say.
"Do you realize it's just as hard for us to see you like this as this is for you?" My dad starts the lecture. "We can't lose our other son Zach." Classic, bringing up my brother. "Trust me, we didn't want this for you. But now that you have this, we are always here for you. And we haven't heard a single thank you." A heated feeling boils up in me, how could he say something like this? He chose to have me. I didn't choose to be born.
"The heart is the most important part of the body and you're treating it like you want to die." My mom says, filling in on my dad. "How much you work, how much you stress."
"If I'm such a disappointment then just go!" I yell without letting her talk more. They looked prepared for anything to come out of my mouth other than the words I just spoke to them.
I normally never yell at my parents, I never yell in general. But I couldn't hold back anymore, my own parents saying stuff like this.
"You are not a disappointment, but don't you think you should be a little more careful with the things you do? I think everyone can agree on this." Sighing I get up out of bed, I'm not into a lecture right now.
"You know what? I will go away, I needed some fresh air anyway." Irritably I get up out of my bed.
"Running away from your problems doesn't help." The urge to scream and yell my heart out to my parents is huge. But I don't. I keep my temper.