“None of this is your fault, Liv,” Fender tries to console me.
“It doesn’t matter how many times I hear that, I don’t believe it. I should have come alone.” I will always regret my decision. I will always regret going to Knuckles for help.
Fender frowns as he reaches for Damon’s face. He places a soaked cotton ball on his missing eye, and Damon’s body spasms. “I know that doesn’t feel nice, bro. But we have to disinfect the wound.”
“The two of them are fucking savages,” I hiss, a blubbery mess.
“That’s why Pony gets away with what he does. He’s got guys like Lev and Dima doing all his dirty work.”
“Not for much longer,” I seethe.
When the lights of Vegas come into view, I breathe my first sigh of relief.
“It’s going to be okay. Hang on. We’re almost there.” I continually kiss Damon’s forehead, whispering sweetly and lovingly, encouragingly and resolutely. “You did not spend all that energy and time winning me over just to give it all up now. We have time we need to make up for. You have dates you need to take me on. And babies we need to make with your eyes and my nose.”
The back door swings open, interrupting my lecture. Everything starts moving at hyper speed once the doctors and nurses get their hands on him.
Lickety-split, he’s on a gurney and being wheeled away with Fender running beside him, rattling off his ailments.
I just watch as he’s taken away. Taken away from me, wondering if I’ll ever see him alive again.
“Liv, c’mon. I’ll take you inside while Gerard and Ky park the cars.” Hawk places a hand on my lower back, but I suddenly can’t see, or breathe, or even move. I just crumble to my knees right on the emergency room entrance sidewalk and bawl. Everything I’ve been keeping inside just pours out like a river in a hurricane.
“C’mon, girl. Don’t fall apart on me now.” Hawk is surprisingly sincere. He scoops me up into his arms and carries me inside. I’m just so exhausted, and drained, and done. I want this nightmare to finally be over. I want to know Damon is okay. I want Pony dead, and to gouge Lev’s and Dima’s eyes out. I want to kill someone.
“Liv?” I hear a flustered voice call my name. “Is she hurt? Should we call a nurse? What happened to her cheek?”
“The black and blue is compliments of those fucking thugs,” Hawk spits. “And she’s fine. I think she just had a panic attack.” He places me down in a waiting room chair. It’s one of those double-wide ones that can seat two people. When my vision clears, I see Kira standing over me, worry etched all over her pretty face. “Liv, are you okay?”
I nod. Then I shake my head. “I’m a mess.”
“Oh, Liv. It’ll be all right.” She sits down and hugs me. “I know how you’re feeling. If anyone understands, it’s me.” Her arms wrapped around me feel good. They feel comforting. It almost feels as if it’s one of my sisters. She smells good, too, like fresh linen or warm cotton. It’s calming. “Not so long ago, I was in a hospital waiting room wondering if Ky was going to live or die. I know how scared you are. How you’re probably blaming yourself for no good reason. Wondering exactly what the universe has in store for you.”
“Yes,” I sniffle. “All of that. How did Ky almost die?” She mentioned it once before but never elaborated on it.
“It’s a long story, but I think one for another time.”
“Are you guys okay? You know, after that whole marriage conversation.”
“He isn’t too happy, but he’ll get over it. If we’re going to get married, it’s going to be in a real church, not a little white wedding chapel. With all our friends and family there. Sorry not sorry.”
I love her tenacity. I need that kind of energy around me now.
Kira jumps up as soon as she sees Ky walk into the room. She runs into his arms, and he lifts her up into a protective hug. Watching them hurts. We have that, Damon and me. That bond, that love. And now it’s being threatened. It could get taken away at any given moment, and the insidious thought is slowly destroying me.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for the family of Mr. Damon La Rue?” A petite woman in pink scrubs announces, and half the room turns around. My stomach drops.
“Yes, that’s us,” Gerard addresses her. “How is he?”
“Still in surgery, but he needs a blood transfusion, and our supply is low. We contacted another hospital, but it will be faster if we can get a donation now, and test the blood types on site”
“Yes.” Ky steps forward without any hesitation. “We’ll all donate.”
She looks to each of us with a surprised smirk. “Well, okay, then. Follow me.”
The walk through the hospital is surprisingly short. She places us in a comfortably sized room with yellow walls, two beds, and a reclining chair.
“Let me get some reinforcements, and then we’ll get right to it.” She hurries out of the room, and then returns with two more nurses, plus a bucket filled with tubes and bags, rubber bands, and needles.
