Page 57 of Bully's Second Chance
The doctor leaned forward. “The reason why we removed the fallopian tube wasn’t just because it was ruptured and bleeding. We also removed it so that the ectopic pregnancy wouldn’t affect the health of the fetus that’s viable and currently still attached to her uterine wall.”
I felt like I wanted to pass out. “That’s—that’s good, right? She’s—she’s okay now?”
The doctor stood to his feet. “Things will be touch and go for a couple of days. I want to keep her at least one night to be monitored, just in case her stitches don’t hold or there’s still more bleeding we haven’t caught. But, you can rest assured that we will do everything in our power to make sure that the viable pregnancy stays that way.”
I looked down into Lily’s sleeping face and whispered softly, “You’re pregnant.”
The doctor patted my shoulder. “We’ll make sure she comes out of this on the other side just fine, Mr. Jackson.”
I looked up at him. “I’ll pay you whatever is necessary to save her life. So, whatever you need to do, it gets done. Got it?”
He nodded. “Trust me, you’re in the right place for something like that.”
As he left me alone in the room with her, I took her hand in mine. I brought it to my lips to kiss, and I couldn’t help but hate how cold her fingers felt. It reminded me of my father’s during his last months on this earth, and panic washed through me.
“God, if you’re listening—or if you even exist—I swear on everything You’ve created that if you take this woman from me, I’ll never forgive you. In fact, if You take this woman from me, I will make it my life’s mission to make sure that everyone I can find will turn to reason and logic instead of You. You have my word on that.”
Then, a female voice sounded in the hallway. “Lily?”
I turned my head and watched as a dark-skinned older woman and an equally dark-skinned older man came rushing into the room.
“No, no, no, mi hija,” the man murmured as he rushed to her bedside.
“Please, tell us what happened,” the woman said breathlessly.
I furrowed my brow tightly. “Who the hell are you two?”
The man’s eyes shot up to mine. “We are her family. Who the hell are you?”
“Yuslan,” the woman scolded, “you know who this is.”
The man studied my eyes before he nodded. “You must be the man’s she’s been taking care of.”
I nodded. “That still doesn’t tell me who you are.”
The woman stepped in front of me and held out her hand. “My name is Guadalupe. This is my husband, Yuslan. You could say we are Lily’s parents. Sort of.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “Sort of?”
The man cleared his throat. “I met her during freshman orientation when she was in college.”
The man started murmuring in Spanish and kissing her hand over and over again. I saw the love he had for her pouring forth from his eyes. It was the love any parent would give a child.
“Freshman orientation?” I asked, turning back toward the woman.
Her eyes fell to Lily’s pale face. “Yes. Yuslan volunteers his time during move-in days at the local college campus to help kids like him.”
“Like him?” I asked.
The man cleared his throat. “I didn’t really have parents who helped me growing up. So, I go to the campus and help kids move in that don’t have any assistance. That’s how I met Lily. She was trying to move all of her stuff up to the top floor of her dorm by herself. That’s how we met.”
I snickered. “And it just kind of stuck?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose. We kept seeing each other on campus, and I saw that she ate alone a lot in the cafeteria.”
The woman interjected. “He volunteers his time to do more than just help students move in.”
I nodded slowly. “So, you two started having lunch together?”
