Page 157 of For I Have Sinned

“I’ll have the nurse come in and administer another dose.”

“Will it make me fall asleep?” I question.

“Yes.” Doctor Allen responds honestly.

“I want to hold off then.” I squeeze Celine’s hand, and she returns the gesture.

“That’s fine,” he says with an understanding nod. “I’m sure Celine or your mother has filled you in on everything, but it is protocol that I explain things to you. The bullet entered through your chest, missing your heart. If you had been standing more to the left, it would have been fatal.”

My eyes slide to my mom, who is standing behind the doctor with her hand up to her mouth and tears in her eyes. Her body has a slight tremor to it, and I want nothing more than to get out of this bed and hug her to heal her heartache.

“At the church, before the officers arrived, you had lost so much blood that you had died,” he tells me, not beating around the bush. “Celine here started giving you CPR, and then the paramedics continued when they found you. If Celine hadn’t begun CPR when she did, you may not have come back.”

I look to Celine, who seems in a daze, no doubt recalling the traumatic event. When she feels my stare, her eyes drop to mine. “I only did what I knew I had to do.”

“You saved his life.” My mom says with gratitude.

“That you did,” the doctor tells her. “There was a moment on the operating table that we almost lost you again, but our team was able to do what they do best to keep you with us.”

“Thank you,” I tell the doctor with a lump in my throat.

He dips his head. “We would like to keep you here for a while. We want to make sure there are no complications and that you are fully healed by the time you leave.”

“How long will that be?” I ask.

“It depends on how seriously you take the process while here. It could be a few weeks, could be a few months,” he explains, and my chest deflates. “The full recovery can take at least a year, but once we see you making improvements here without any complications, you will be able to go home.”

I slowly nod. “Okay.”

Doctor Allen smiles. “Okay! I will create a recovery plan, and then we can review it together. For now, the best thing for you is rest.”

The doctor leaves the three of us, and I lay my head back staring at the ceiling while I think about what my life has come to.

I joined the church to better myself and to get out of the terrible life I was living. I didn’t want to end up in jail, and I sure as hell didn’t want to end up dead because living in the world that I had been living in, either of those things was possible.

Jail by getting caught, which happened to me already. And death. Whether it was from the drugs themselves or from pissing off the wrong person and getting shot. Who would have known that joining the priesthood, I would still get shot and die, only to be brought back to life?

And even though I’m mad about the fact that I’ll be in the hospital for so long, I shouldn’t be. The plan was to leave the church and start my life with Celine, but now that has been put on hold. I try to let go of the anger I feel over not being able to start our life together, because things could be worse.

The CPR couldn’t have worked. The surgery could not have worked.

But it did, and I’m alive with the love of my life standing by my side.

“It’s going to be okay,” Celine says, reading my mind. “You’re going to recover really fast, and then we can get out of here.”

I offer her a half smile when my mom announces, “I’m going to give the two of you some time alone.”

“You don’t have to go,” Celine tries to tell her.

With a sad expression, my mom says, “Both of you went through something very traumatic. I want to give you space to talk about everything. I’ll go find Vince and Amelia to let them know you are awake.”

My mom leaves, but the names that left her have my brows dipping. I look to Celine, who is smirking.

“She met them when she got in the other day. Vince and Amelia haven’t left my side since the night they rushed in here.”

“I’m glad you weren’t alone, and I’m sorry you had to meet my mom under these circumstances.” I let out an awkward laugh. “It’s not how I wanted you two to meet for the first time.”

“Timing isn’t always perfect, but your mom and I are practically best friends now.”