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“Violet?” I frowned when I heard Mom’s voice coming from the kitchen. She sounded distressed, and I started walking even as I answered Luca.
“I’ll wait after school, and you can pick me up. I’ll make sure Mom knows I won’t—” I entered the kitchen to find Dad standing with his phone to his ear. His face was deathly pale as he listened. But it was the tears in Mom’s eyes she was trying to blink back that had my heart stopping. “I have to go,” I told Luca and hung up before he could say anything.
“You and your brother aren’t going to school today,” she told me in a quiet voice as Dad continued to listen.
“Wh-why not?”
“Honey, Uncle Drake woke up ill this morning. Lana took him to the hospital, but…” Tears were already starting to spill down my face.
“No!” I cried, then whispered, “He didn’t die.”
“No, no,” she rushed to assure me, her face turning green. “But he’s very sick. The doctors want to do the surgery today rather than wait until next week.”
I suddenly felt light-headed. I still hadn’t let myself think about Dad giving part of his liver to my uncle. It was too scary to contemplate, so I hadn’t let it enter my head. And if it tried, I would push it back. But now, there was no more hiding. It was happening, sooner than anticipated, and I couldn’t stop it.
I didn’t want to stop it. Not really.
Dad was going to save his brother by giving a part of himself to him. I would have happily done the same thing for Mason or Luca or anyone else in my family. And I wished it were me who was doing it now rather than my dad, because all the “what-ifs” that could go wrong and take my daddy away from us were so much more daunting than if I were taking the risks.
My phone rang in my hand, and I knew in my heart it was Luca calling back. I lifted it to my ear just as Dad hung up his.
“Baby.” Luca’s voice only made my tears fall faster. “I just heard, and I’m on my way to the hospital now with my parents.”
Dad gave me a grim smile. “It’s going to be okay,” he promised. “My part is super easy. By tonight, I’ll be complaining about not being able to run for a while. You’ll see.” He kissed the top of my head then took Mom’s hand. “Give me ten minutes, and then we’ll leave.”
“Vi?” Luca’s voice murmured.
“Luca,” I gasped. “I… What… I can’t…” I knew I wasn’t making any sense, but I couldn’t put together a full sentence. I was scared, and there was absolutely nothing I could do to change whatever outcome was going to occur.
“It’s going to be okay, baby.” He echoed Dad’s words. “I’ll be right there beside you.”
Hearing that promise eased some of the constriction in my throat, and suddenly I was able to breathe. Gulping in oxygen, I leaned back against the counter and closed my eyes, just listening to Luca’s breathing. At my feet, Oscar nudged my hand with his nose, offering comfort.
The sound of running feet hit my ears, and I lifted my tear-filled eyes to watch as Mason rushed into the kitchen. He looked so much like Dad my heart ached just looking at him, but it was the sight of the same stark fear I was feeling blazing out of wet blue-gray eyes that had me offering him my hand.
With a strangled sob, my little brother threw himself against me. He was three years younger than me but already two inches taller. He wrapped his long arms around me so hard, it pushed the air out of my lungs.
“Violet, are you okay?” Luca asked.
“I-I’m okay,” I told him in a strangled voice. “Mason needs me. I-I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay, babe. I love you.”
“I love you too.” I hung up before I could start sobbing and wrapped both arms around Mason. “It’s going to be okay.” I was trying to ease his fears, but I wasn’t so sure I believed anything I said.
“You don’t know that,” he choked out. “Anything could happen. I’ve been looking online. I’ve learned about everything that could go wrong. Not just with Dad, but Uncle Drake, too. They could both die, Vi.” His shoulders began to shake, and he buried his face in my hair. His sobs stabbed me straight through the heart, and I had to fight back my own.
But I was the oldest. I had to be strong for both of us.
By the time we got to the hospital, Aunt Emmie had already woven her magic. There was security everywhere. I barely noticed them, however, as we were ushered up to a waiting room where my family was already starting to fill the many seats.
As soon as I walked through the door, Luca was there to hold me. But I couldn’t fall apart on him, not yet. Mom and Dad had followed Mason and me into the waiting room so he could hug everyone, and I didn’t want the last time he saw me before surgery to be with tears streaming down my face.
I absorbed as much of Luca’s strength as I could and then pulled back. Dad was already hugging Uncle Nik and then scooped up Aunt Emmie. She whispered something in his ear, and he laughed quietly before putting her down. Others came over to hug him in turn, and I waited, leaning against Luca as I watched them all interact for a few more minutes.
The door opened, and a nurse in surgical scrubs stood there. Dad’s gaze went around the room until it fell on me and then Mason. “You two can’t come with me,” he said with regret. “Only your mom until they take me down for surgery.”
I nodded my understanding, but Mason didn’t like this news. I hugged my brother against me, promising him without words I wouldn’t leave him. Our gazes locked, and after a tense moment, he gave a single nod.
