Page 92 of Love Sick

“Promise?” she asks, her lower lip quivering.

“I promise.”

She looks at Luna, who is cradled against my chest, and I know she wishes to have someone love her as much as I do Luna.

“Carry her into the kitchen,” she orders before running out of the room.

I don’t ask questions and sprint through the house, taking the stairs two at a time. I gently place Luna onto the kitchen counter, and when Alanna enters with her black doctor’s bag, a small shred of hope raps at my heart.

She hurriedly searches through her bag, producing a vial and syringe. “It’s so she doesn’t feel any pain,” she assures me.

At this point, I have to trust her.

Once she’s injected Luna, she rips open packets of sterilized medical tools. “She’s lost a lot of blood.”

I stand back, watching as Alanna slips on gloves and examines Luna’s wound. It’s deep, but Luna is a fighter. Alanna looks at her gold wristwatch, and I assume she’s waiting for the meds to kick in.

But there’s no time.

“Just do it,” I beg, hoping the pain of Alanna sewing Luna up will be enough to knock her out.

“It’s not enough time.”

“We don’t have time!”

She knows I’m right and commences covering the wound with a brown solution. It smells like iodine. “I need to cut away some flesh.”

“Do what you have to.”

She nods, and when she reaches for the scalpel, I hope I made the right choice. I’m trusting the woman who is the reason why we’re here.

She inhales, and on her exhale, she carefully cuts away the hanging skin at Luna’s throat. Luna begins to convulse, a strangled moan trapped in her chest.

I rush over to her and grip her cold hand. “I’m here, baby. It’s okay.”

Alanna continues cutting the serrated wound with precision, her hand never wavering. Once the wound is cleaned up, she begins to stitch it up with care. I never let go of Luna’s hand. I never leave her side and once Alanna is done, I realize I’ve just tied Alanna to us forever.

Something which I think Luna will never forgive me for.

“She needs blood,” Alanna says, snapping off her bloody gloves and hunting through her bag. “We know you’re a match.”

I don’t argue and offer my arm to Alanna who stabs it with a needle and feeds my blood into Luna. I watch the red life source flow from my veins into the clear tube and into Luna.

It’s beautiful but macabre to watch.

Alanna cleans up, and every so often, checks the blood transfusion to ensure everything is going okay. She offers me some candy, knowing I’m feeling a little dizzy.

“Is she going to be okay?” I ask, sucking on the sickly sweet candy.

“I think so.”

“She needs to go to the hospital.”

Alanna purses her lips. “I can’t do that. I do that and then questions will be asked. How do we explain what happened?”

She’s right, because this is one big fucking mess. “Why did you shoot him?”

This is the only time Alanna’s hand trembles. “Because he was going to hurt you.”

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