“Lily, I need you to wake up. You’re causing a lot of drama right now. They may not know that gravity is your kryptonite, but I know how klutzy you are. So, please wake up,” I pleaded, squeezing her hands. She squeezed back.
“Okay. I’ll let you sleep. I’m going to go talk to Ethan. You have a lot of explaining to do when you wake up,” I told Lily before kissing her forehead.
Once I said my piece, I looked over toward the curtain, knowing there were people on the other side. “Okay. I’m readyto see Ethan,” I said to the doctor and officers who were clearly eavesdropping.
“Right this way,” he said without hesitation.
I made it to where they were holding Ethan, illegally, I might add. I went ahead and texted my PR manager and asked him to hire a lawyer on the books immediately. No matter what, this would not go without justice—if Ethan was innocent, we’d sue the hospital and police department. If guilty, I’d put him under hell and make him suffer.
“Here you are. While you’re here, I’d like to discuss what we’ve found regarding your sister’s bloodwork,” the doctor told us as we entered the room.
“You’re going to arrest him or hold him but still tell him the status of her health?” I asked cautiously. What game were they playing?
“Yes, since you are her next of kin, you can ask us to go out into the hallway. Otherwise, if you still feel he is innocent after seeing the state of your sister, then we can discuss it with you. Only with your permission,” the doctor said.
“He’s fine. He couldn’t hurt a fly.” I forced a fake laugh. Apparently, he could exterminate an entire nest of hornets with his cock, but I didn’t want to think about him with my sister.
“Okay. She’s obviously unconscious, has lost a lot of blood, and she has a concussion. However, there’s something else causing the blood loss.” The doctor paused for me to ask any questions.
“Okay. Go on,” I snapped. “What’s wrong with her?”
“We’ve determined she has cervical cancer. We’ll have to act fast. Because she’s lost so much blood, we need to perform a hysterectomy. She had a fibroid on her cervix and uterus, and when it burst, it caused the extreme blood loss.” The doctor paused again.
“She has cervical cancer? She had a fibroma?” Ethan stood up, still restricted with the handcuffs.
“Yes, Mr. Brennan. Do you know how she felt about kids? If we decide on her behalf, she may resent you two for taking the choice from her,” the doctor said, clearly holding a bit of resentment toward him.
“I’m not guilty of anything but taking her virginity and ignorantly leaving her alone to shower, thinking she would be okay. I do know that she doesn’t want kids. She told me last night that she was going to get the Plan B pill.” Ethan fiddled with the handcuffs, looking awkward. “I think she will be okay with the hysterectomy if it means she can still live a vibrant life.”
“I’d rather her be alive than struggle with anything. I also consent to the hysterectomy,” I added, “Is there any way to force her awake? Like rub a lemon under her nose or something, like they do in the movies?”
“We could, but it risks complicating what put her in the coma in the first place. We want her memory intact,” the doctor said, sneering at Ethan. Clearly those two would never be friends.
“Okay. How long before we have to make this decision?” I asked, growing more concerned and impatient by the minute.
“Within the hour. Her life depends on it.” The doctor stared at me before taking another deep breath and asking, “Are you and she both O+ blood type?” he asked, looking at me and then briefly at Ethan.
“I have type O+ blood, yes.” Ethan brightened.
“And you, Mr. Buchanan?” The doctor looked back at me.
“Yes, sir,” I answered quickly.
“Okay, we’ll ask that you donate blood to help in case she needs it. If you don’t mind, that is,” the doctor said while making notes on his laptop. Before now, I hadn’t even realized he had a laptop.
When we finished with our blood draw, we waited in the room—or rather the room that was Ethan’s holding cell. They took Lily back to the operating room to prep her for surgery. My nerves had never been so shot before. Lily had to make it through this; she just had to. Everything depended on her.
Everything depended on her waking up. My friendship with him depended on her. His freedom and their relationship. His career and everything else depended on her response.
Ethan fell asleep on the hospital bed while I paced back and forth. They had been in surgery for almost six hours now. Time decided to take its time today, whereas on a normal day, it felt like there wasn’t ever enough time.
“Mr. Brennan and Buchanan, Lily is awake. She corroborated your story, sir. You are free to go. We are sorry for causing any problems,” the officer said, removing the cuffs from Ethan’s wrists.
“No worries. Thanks for looking out for her. Can we see her now?” I asked. I was ready to see my sister and give her hell for being the biggest drama queen and nemesis of gravity.
“You may,” the officer said, taking us to Lily’s recovery room, which had been relocated to a different part of the hospital.
“Ethan!” Lily brightened when she saw him and gave him a hug, and then kissed him in front of me.