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Jesus.
“You’re not on duty,” Evan reminds me.“You don’t have to be the hero at every turn.”
He’s right. I’m here to check on a patient in the CCU and to figure out what I need to say to Eloise to guarantee we have a future.
I step back when I see what’s coming my way.
Jordan is standing on the bottom rail of the stretcher performing chest compressions. Logan has a hand on the woman’s head as the EMTs hurriedly steer the stretcher toward its destination in what I imagine is a trauma bay.
I get a glimpse of an open white sweater and a pink bra beneath it. A long mane of brown hair is matted with blood. When the patient’s lifeless hand falls off the stretcher to hang off the side, I’m on my knees.
A thin silver band circles her thumb and the diamond bracelet I bought her is wrapped around her wrist.
A panicked growl erupts from somewhere deep inside of me as I watch them wheel my beautiful Eloise past me.
I tryto push past Evan to get into trauma room one. He struggles to hold me back. Logan rushes at me. He joins in to help Evan by placing a shoulder against my chest.
“I need in there,” I protest. “I need to help.”
Logan pats my cheek to get me to look at him. “Her heart is beating again. Dr. Whitman is in there with her. I’m going backin to evaluate her head wound, and her ankle. The good news is that her pupils are reactive, Gaines.”
I scrub both hands over my face. “Let me in.”
“Jordan is one of the best,” Evan reminds me. “He’ll figure out what caused this. He’ll determine if it’s related to her heart.”
I pull on my hair. “I need you to listen to me.”
Both men step closer to me. Evan lowers his voice. “I called her cousin. They are on their way here, now. You need to get out to that waiting room to tell them what’s going on.”
“I can do that,” Logan offers. “Gaines isn’t in any shape…”
“I’ll handle it.” I growl at him.
His gaze catches mine. This is all too fucking familiar. The two of us in an ED. Someone who doesn’t deserve it is facing death.
His jaw stiffens. “You love her.”
I hang my head. “I fucked it up so bad with her.”
He taps the back of my neck the way he always did when we were kids. “There is never a fuck up that’s so bad that we can’t come back from it.”
Those words hit hard.
I glance up at him and make a decision that could impact the rest of my life. “Tell Jordan she’s at risk for CPVT.”
Evan pats my shoulder. “Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia? You think that’s what caused her to collapse?”
I nod. “I think there’s a very good chance that’s what caused this.”
“That’s hereditary,” Evan points out. “Have one of her parents been diagnosed?”
I shrug and answer honestly. “I have no idea.”
Logan and Evan exchange glances. “A sibling?”
I look straight into Logan’s eyes. “Trust me. Tell Jordan. I realize she can’t be tested right now, but there are treatments until she can be. He’ll understand.”
“I’ll tell him now,” Logan assures me. “We’ll get her through this, Gaines.”
