Page 76 of Near Miss

Clearing my throat, I reach forward and tug on Sarah’s hair. “How’s Lily?”

Sarah’s lip quivers and she takes a tiny swallow. “There were fewer eggs than last time, so ... we’ll see.”

She tries to put on this bright smile, but her eyes shine.

I can see our mother in my periphery, wringing her hands and glancing back and forth between us.

I try not to look at her because I’d offer anyway, but I wrap my arm around Sarah and hug her to my chest briefly. “Don’t worry about it. I meant it before. Whatever you need. As much as you need. As many tries as you want.”

Sarah nods softly, blinking up at me. I think she’s about to say thank you—she always does, and she always means it—when Nathaniel smacks my shoulder.

“Speak of the devil.”

I don’t need to follow Nathaniel’s gaze to know—I think the composition of the air in the room changes.

At least the air I’m breathing.

I haven’t seen her since the night she told me the truth—her truth—about her father, the car accident, and her donation. I tried not to make it as big of a deal as I felt like it was—I was a bit worried she’d run away like a startled animal if I told her that it made me want to cut my lungs out of my chest so she could have those, too.

That I think she’s one of the bravest people I’ve ever met in my entire life, I wasn’t real before I met her, and I really wish she’d scrap this no dating rule.

Greer isn’t looking at us when she steps off the staircase—the tiny furrow between her brows tells me she’s thinking. Her lips move as her eyes track across her phone, and one hand twirls her braid absentmindedly.

But her eyes flick up and meet mine. She cocks her head, one eyebrow rises, and a small smile plays on her mouth.

I lift my hand, and I sort of think she’s going to ignore me in favour of whatever else it is she needs to be doing, but she starts walking towards us.

“Wait—” Nathaniel’s fingers tense against my shoulder, and I think he tries to step behind me. “She’s not coming over here, is she?”

I cut him a sideways glance. “What is your problem? She’s nicer than you.”

He gives a jerk of his head and takes a measured step away from me. “She yelled at a PGY4 the other day for mixing up her playlists when she was doing a PTA transplant.”

I hate that. Because I know why she did it. How she must have felt and how she would have felt about yelling afterwards.

I sort of feel like running around the hospital and yelling at all the residents until they stop doing things that hurt her.

But she looks just fine when she stops in front of me.

“Dr. Roberts.” I hold out my hand with a grin.

She rolls her eyes, but she reaches out and shakes it anyway. “Beckett.”

My heart pushes against my ribs when she says my name, and I brush my thumb across the back of her hand.

Her eyes narrow and she takes a step back. I feel like throwing her one of those lazy smiles she gets a kick out of, but she turns to my brother. “Dr. Davis. I hope everything has gone well with the drive. I was planning to donate when I finish my shift.”

“This is our mom and sister,” Nathaniel blurts, pointing back and forth between them.

Greer’s lips turn down in confusion, and she blinks, but pivots towards my mom and sister. “Lovely to meet you.”

She holds out a hand for Sarah, and then for my mother.

My mom looks back and forth between us with wide eyes, like she’s waiting for me to tell her she’s just met the mother of her future grandchildren. She does that—has these weird motherly instincts that aren’t really followed through with action.

I spare Greer having to watch her flounder anymore. “Mom, Dr. Roberts is the one who saved me when I was volunteering here. Kept my days interesting.”

“Oh!” My mom’s smile widens. “Are you a pediatric oncologist like Nathaniel?”

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