Sophia's POV
I woke up suddenly to a loud knock on the door.
At first, I jumped toward it without thinking. I had just woken from a deep sleep.
My heart was pounding. I didn't know why—maybe it was that crazy dream I just had. One of those dreams where you're falling.
In mine, I was falling from a tall building. Suzzie had told me to jump. She said it wasn't that high. But it was.
It scared the life out of me.
I'm glad I'm awake now.
"Sophia, open the door," Mr. Benson called. His voice, usually loud, sounded unusually calm today.
I knew he'd seen me come in a few hours ago—I had just gotten back from the hospital. I hadn't greeted him; he was on a call.
My breathing was heavy as I walked toward the door. What could be wrong?
"Well, let me find out," I muttered, shrugging as I opened it.
"Aha," he said with a stretched smile.
"Good afternoon, sir," I said, rubbing my eyes. "Is everything okay, Mr. Benson?"
''Good afternoon, Sophia,'' he responded, handing me an envelope. "Not exactly. I wanted to give you this personally," he said.
I took the envelope from him and stared, confused, and then I opened the envelope and brought out a piece of paper that clearly said "Notice to Vacate". My eyes widened in shock.
"The building has been sold," he said, adjusting his feet on the ground. "Someone else is buying the property. That means all the tenants, including you, must move out in 3 months."
"Wait, everyone has to leave?" I asked, raising my brows in total confusion.
He nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but that's it. The new owner wants the place cleared so he can do what he wants with it. I've been going around informing everyone. You're not the only one affected."
I didn't know what to say. I just stared at the letter.
"How's your father?" he asked, looking past me into the small apartment.
"He's still in the hospital," I said, waving my hand unconsciously. "He's getting better; he will be back in a week or two."
Mr. Benson nodded as he moved backward to leave. "That's good news. I know this news is too sudden and unexpected, but I wanted you to hear it from me first."
I nodded slowly, holding the letter very tightly. "It's okay, sir. I understand, thank you."
"If you need anything, let me know," he said before finally turning to leave.
I closed the door and leaned against it. My heart felt heavy. "3 Months? That's not enough time".
I walked to the couch and sat down, staring at the letter in my hands. I know Dad and I have been saving for a house, even before he got sick. We have worked extra, done so many jobs, just to raise enough money to buy the new house over the years, but this is too sudden.
Some of our savings have already been spent on his hospital bills. I was so sure everything was under control, but now, time is against us. How do we recover the money we have spent on the hospital bills?
I wiped my sweaty face, trying not to worry too much about the whole thing, but I had to figure things out. Maybe I'd take more jobs and possibly take out a loan from the bank if need be.
I set the letter on the table before me and looked around the small apartment. It had been our home for years, filled with memories of my father and me. It has just been the two of us. Dad told me that Mom passed away giving birth to me, so I never got to know her. There is an old album where he saved some old pictures of her, and that's all I have seen.
At the same time, I miss Dad. I thought about all the times he and I sat on the couch, watching old movies, laughing at the same jokes over and over again.
He has not been home for weeks now, after he kept complaining of some severe pain in his stomach. I had rushed him to the hospital that morning, after he woke up vomiting and in pain worse than usual.
I should have paid more attention to him after he complained several times. I shouldn't have listened to him when he said he could handle it. I miss him so much. Hopefully, he will be discharged soon.
I wiped my eyes quickly as tears started pouring down. "Everything is going to be okay," I said to myself, nodding and wiping my eyes. "We are going to take a loan, it's not a big deal, everything will work out fine, it will".
My phone rang. I quickly dried my face and cleared my throat as I reached out my hand and grabbed it from the table. My heart beat so hard and it almost failed when I saw that it was from the hospital.
"Why is the hospital calling?". I had just gotten back home to eat, rest, and freshen up, as I had spent all night at the hospital after my shift at work ended yesterday.
I picked up the call.
"Hello?" I answered, sniffing, with my brows raised and my eyes wide open.
"Hello, Miss Bernett, there has been an issue at the hospital, your presence is needed". The call had ended almost immediately. The person on the other side of the phone was a nurse from the hospital, and she sounded tense.
I didn't even get the chance to ask questions. "What could be the issue?" I asked out loud, looking at my phone, squeezing my brows.
I tried calling back, but there was no response.
I couldn't wait to try again. I grabbed my coat immediately and rushed out of the house. I had quickly forgotten everything that had happened a few minutes ago: the eviction, and everything.
I couldn't think of anything else; all that mattered now was getting to the hospital since the nurse didn't say much. I had a strong feeling that something had gone wrong, but I still tried my best to stay positive. I didn't need any negativity now.
"Maybe they wanted another pint of blood? That's not a problem, we could still get some from the blood bank", I thought to myself as I stopped a taxi.