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“If your next question is how am I feeling about my fiancée’s criminal ex-lover giving up his life to save hers, then I have to admit my answer is non-linear.”
Lex chuckles. “I figured.”
Massaging my temples, I force a smile. “Obviously, I’m relieved beyond measure. Ella is going to live. It outweighs everything else.” I rub my face with both hands as I try to make sense of my emotions.
“But there’s also this jealousy lingering beneath the surface that it’s him who’s sacrificing everything for her, that he will be a permanent part of her even when he’s dead. No matter where she goes, no matter what she does, he’ll be there with her… with us. It irks me, yet I’m glad for him… and for us. There’s this weird dynamic between the three of us. It’s hard to explain…”
“I was there when the Gandalf guy approached Ella and gave her that riddle. I remember how flustered she was. I find it difficult to believe stuff like that, but that’s not to say it can’t be true, especially if all three of you feel it. And from what I’ve gathered, you all do. As weird as it would be… if Ella had De Marco’s heart, the three of you would be together in a very unusual way. Who knows, maybe that’s how you will all feel complete?”
I shrug. I guess time will tell. “Hmm. Food for thought,” I reply.
“No matter what happens, both Rhia and I are there for you guys.”
Gentle snoring drifts over to us, and we look over at the bed. Rhia and Ella have fallen asleep, heads touching, the sight plucking at my heartstrings. Lex and I stare at the scene. “I’m not a religious man, but I pray Ella recovers fully. I’m not sure Rhia would ever get over it if something happened to her,” Lex sighs. I know what he means. Ella and I might have only been together for a few weeks, but I would never get over her loss.
For now, at least, all is well; the beeping of the monitors reassuring that there’s still a future for us.
“I better take my troublemaker to the hotel for a rest. She needs it. She’s been beside herself ever since you told her. And getting to Atlanta and finding you guys gone shook her up even more.”
Lex gently wakes Rhia and convinces her to check into the hotel across the street for the night. Rhia is reluctant to leave, making me promise to call her the minute anything changes with Ella or if there’s news about a heart that’s not Tiero’s.
Tiero’s heart… he’s giving it to Ella.
The magnitude of his action sinks in once more.
It’s the ultimate gesture of love.
It’s only Ella and me now. Just like the night before, I climb on to the bed with her and make myself as comfortable as possible, careful not to disturb any cables or drips.
Becky wasn’t impressed when she checked in on Ella but didn’t say anything. But even if she had, I wouldn’t have moved. I need to hold Ella—need to feel her warmth against me, hear her even breathing.
Ella only sleeps two hours before she wakes up again and snuggles her face deeper into my embrace.
“Try to get some more sleep,” I say gently.
“I can’t. I’m too wired.” She draws lazy circles on my chest, reminding me what our life is like outside hospital walls, when everything is normal.
“Talk to me then, Sunshine.”
She lets out a long breath. “You haven’t called me lucida, since I said to you I might really become a star in the heavens.”
It’s true. Whilelucidaused to roll off my tongue so easily, now it seems tainted, almost like a bad omen. How could I possibly call her that again? Sunshine, on the other hand? It means life and joy, laughter and fun… that’s what I want for her. It’s what I want for us.
“You always be my star, but one who’s down here on earth and not up in the heavens. Especially now that there’s a heart for you.” The last part is hard to say. It leaves a heaviness hanging in the room that wasn’t there mere seconds ago.
Ella is silent for a while, and I can see the wheels churning in her mind. “How could I accept his heart, Ade? How could I live with his death on my conscience?”
“He’s a dying man, Ella… and your only chance to live.”
“We both still have a chance… a donor could be found,” she insists.
“Yes, that could happen and I pray it does. But you’re more realistic than that, my love. The chances to come across the organs we need through legitimate channels are almost non-existent, and you wouldn’t accept the other way Mateo is prepared to secure them.”
The hand on my chest stops and she’s biting her lip. “Would he really kill someone to save his brother and me?”
I don’t tell her what I overheard, don’t tell her that the search for a donor person has already begun. Instead I say, “It’s a moot point now. Tiero made his decision.”
Her eyes lift to mine, and she knows… knows the truth behind what I’m saying. I kiss the tip of her nose, and she lays down her head again, the fingers on my chest resuming drawing circles.
