Page 71 of Wildest Desire

“That’s enough.” Lexi takes in a deep breath, but you can see the pain on her face. If I could take all the pain away from her, I would.

“The doctor is on her wa–never mind. The doctor is here to see you.”

The doctor walks in, checks the monitors, then looks over at me. “How are we feeling?”

I walk over to Lexi and take her hand in mine.

“Tired. My body hurts, everywhere and I’m really thirsty,” Lexi tells her.

“The first surgery went well. Once I feel confident you're strong enough, we'll go back in and finish the internal damage repairs. We didn’t believe you would survive if we spent more time on it when you first arrived.” She looks at the chart then back at Lexi. “Lexi, there is no easy way to say this. While you were in surgery, there were some complications.” The doctor looks at me for a split-second.

“Due to these complications, we had to remove one of your ovaries and a fallopian tube. I’m really sorry, but due to your injuries, the chances of conceiving naturally have been significantly reduced.”

I feel Lexi’s grip loosening around my hand, but I keep my grip tight on hers.

Nodding her head, she licks her bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth. “Is my brother here?” she asks, not looking up at me.

“Yes.”

“I would like to see him, please.” She looks back at the doctor. “How long before I can go home?” In the space of two minutes, I’ve lost her all over again.

“You’ll be here at least a week to ten days, then you’ll be discharged and advised to remain on bed rest for a few weeks.”

Lexi pulls her hand out of mine. “Can you get my brother. Please?” she asks, still looking at the doctor. I want to shout or throw something, so I leave her room without saying another word.

I can’t believe she even thinks I give a shit about having children right now. Walking into the waiting room, I grab a chair and throw it across the room. Travis walks over to me, but I push him away.

“She wants to talk to you.” I tell Dan. “The doctor talked to her about her possibilities of getting pregnant, and that was it. She didn’t even look at me after that.” If anyone If anyone can talk to her, it’s him. She doesn’t want me around, and I won’t risk making her uncomfortable. I need her to get better.

Dan looks over at Jon before looking back at me. “I'll talk to her,” he tells me.

“You tell her that I don’t give a fuck. All I want is her! Fuck everything else!” I shout, causing everyone in the waiting room to stare at me. I couldn’t give two shits what they think.

Travis comes forward and stands in front of me. “Let Dan talk to her while we go back to your place and get Lexi some clothes.” My eyes move to my mom standing behind him. I can tell she's thinking the same thing. “It’ll give you some time to cool down before you see Lexi again.”

“Fine. Tell her that I didn’t back down the first time, and I’m sure as hell not backing down this time. She's leaving this hospital with me, and no one is going to stop me,” I tell Dan. I'll fight for her to hear me out and stay with me.

“I think it’s just the shock of it. Let me talk to her, Ethan. Go home and take a shower. Look at you. You still have her blood on you. Come back when you’ve had time to calm down and clean up a little,” he says, and I look down at my hands. He’s right. I can still see traces of blood that I missed.

“Please, make her listen,” I plead quietly.

“I will.”

As he walks away, I look over at Travis then make my way toward the exit. I know Dan will be on my side. I’m confident he will fight for me. He let me stay with her before seeing her himself. He knows how much Lexi means to me—she’s my world, my absolute everything.

Chapter 31

Lexi

The idea of not being able to have children rattles around in my head. It's the only thing I can think about at the moment. I should be focusing on getting better, but I can’t. I need to figure out the best way to make a clean break with Ethan. He doesn’t deserve this. He deserves to be with someone who can give him a family. I know the doctor said having children is still a possibility, but it’s not enough. What if I can’t?

“You look like shit,” Dan says walking over to the bed.

“I feel like it,” I reply as he gives me a gentle hug.

“You had me worried. We thought we lost you.” Taking my hand in his, he stands there and looks me in the eyes. “I hear you wanted to see me. I know you—you’re not the type of person to mope around and feel sorry for herself. To be honest, if it were me feeling sorry for you and acting like you're fragile, you would punch me. So, what’s going through that pretty little head of yours?” Dan asks me, making the nurse laugh. He’s right. I hate people looking after me. I need to be in control of my life.

“Where’s Ethan?”

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