Page 222 of The Re-Proposal

No. It can’t be.

“Joel!” I yell.

The kid doesn’t hear me. He’s lying on the bed. Still.

Eyes closed.

So, so pale.

My heart slices in half. I launch forward. “Joel, what the hell? Open your eyes! This isn’t funny!”

I glance at the flatline.

Will it to start beating again.

“Joel!”

“Sir, you can’t go in there.” A nurse shoves my chest.

“Cody, stay back.” My brother clamps an arm around me. “Come on.”

I fight to be free, but Clay is brawnier than me and he wrestles me into the hallway.

Once Joel’s out of sight, I lose all the strength in my legs.

Gravity pulls me lower. I grab my brother’s shirt to keep from hitting the floor.

“Clay.” A groan pulls from deep in my chest and makes its way through my mouth. My hands are fists. I don’t know what to say. What to do. It feels like I’m being ripped to shreds. “He’s gone.”

Clay’s eyes turn red.

I’m shaking. Barely cohesive. “I promised him he’d be okay. I promised.”

“I know, buddy.” My brother hugs me.

It feels like my head is about to pop off my neck.

In the distance, frantic footsteps pound the floor.

Vargas runs into the hallway. “Bolton, we have a problem!”

I whip around.

Clay turns too.

Max Stinton joins us. I don’t see Elizabeth and Dawn. They must have taken the little girl away to grieve alone.

Vargas’ cheeks are flushed as he skids to a stop in front of me. Too many emotions are stuck in my throat. I can’t breathe. I can’t speak.

“Not right now, Vargas,” Clay says. “Joel’s… with the doctors.”

At least he didn’t say ‘with God’.

At least he believes there’s hope.

“But—”

I shake my head. I can’t take any more.

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