AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Immediately, I scoop him up into my arms. “You’re okay,” I reassure him. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I’ve got the car,” Donovan says and snatches up the keys.
Donovan is the one who gives me the news.
Donovan: “His kidneys are shutting down.”
Me: “But I thought the dialysis was working?”
Donovan: “It was. But it only slows the process down—it doesn’t cure him. Unfortunately, the damage to his kidneys was already extensive when he got here.”
Me: “So what’s the next step?”
Donovan: “He needs a transplant. We’ve got him on the list, but…there’s no saying when he’ll get a match for sure. Until then, we’ll keep him on dialysis. He needs to stay here for a couple of nights for observation.”
Me: “Okay.”
Donovan: “It’s okay to be scared.”
But I don’t feel scared. I don’t feel anything.
My soul is ice water, and I’m a million miles under the sea.
V
The Truth: January, 2019
77
Donovan
Kenzi doesn’t leave Otto’s side.
I do everything I can to ease his discomfort and flush the infection from his system, but in the end, it comes back to the same result: he needs a new kidney. Fast.
When I work, it’s through a haze. All I can think about is Otto.
I barely register when, halfway through my shift, Leonard King comes up to me and taps me on the arm.
“Donovan. A moment.”
I follow the other man to his office. I’ve worked in this hospital for almost ten years, but I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve been inside Mr. King’s office. He’s in his own tower, cut away from the rest of the hospital.
I’m immediately uncomfortable, but I sit down across from him anyway.
Sharks can smell fear. I don’t want him to catch the scent.
He presses his fingertips together, tenting his hands. “How is Kenzi’s boy doing?”
“Not great. Otto’s kidney enzymes are down from yesterday. He’s going to need a transplant soon.”
“How long?”
“I give it two weeks. If everything goes smoothly.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
I shake my head. “The infection could spread. Damage his other organs.”
