Page 105 of Hey, Daddy

The two of us rushed inside, and a woman who was manning the front desk saw us coming and nodded, gesturing for me to follow her.

“I’m guessing you’re here for Finneus?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied, my voice sounding ravaged.

God, I should’ve never left Finn or let Desi return home for a visit.

I should’ve known that something would go wrong.

“Tell me what happened?” I begged as we were allowed back into what looked like a surgical area.

Finn looked like he was just sleeping peacefully when I came up to him, placing my hand on his still rising and falling chest.

“Daddy,” Desi said from behind me.

I turned, pulling her into my chest, and gave my attention back to the doctor.

“He’s in very bad shape, Mr. Hopkins,” the doctor admitted. “He has a severed spine. Broken front and back leg. Fractured skull. We’re assuming all of this happened when she backed over him in the driveway.”

“What was he doing outside?” I asked but knew that I wouldn’t get any answers.

“Sorry, sir,” he apologized.

He looked young.

Very young.

But he held my eyes, and explained the rest of his injuries, ultimately admitting that euthanasia was the best option.

“Are you sure?” I croaked, seconds away from losing my shit.

“I’m sure, sir,” he said. “With a smaller breed, this would be no big deal. But that much trauma, after having been hit by a car previously…he’s too big. He’d have to be in traction for a long time, and that’s if we could even get him to recover…”

He said more, but I stopped listening.

All I heard was, “he isn’t going to make it.”

I felt my stomach sink.

God.

Fucking Julia.

Fucking,fuckingJulia.

Ihatedher guts.

“What now?” I rasped, swallowing past the bile in my throat.

The bile threatened to make its way up my throat, and the saliva pooling in my mouth made it worse as I tried and failed to swallow.

“Take as much time as you need.” He looked heartbroken for me. Poor guy. How could you live through this every single day? “When you’re ready, we’ll administer the medication. One will calm him down—though he’s already been given a sedative. And the other one will stop his heart.”

Desi started to cry in my arms, and a cold hand slipped into mine, Nastya leaning her forehead against my right shoulder blade.

“Desi, baby,” I said softly. “Are you ready?”

It was a heartless thing to do, putting the decision into a broken-hearted sixteen-year-old’s hands, but I did it anyway. I couldn’t do it myself.

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