The doctor met her gaze with genuine pity.“That and… well, I’ll send the hospital social worker to speak with you.There are financial issues as well.”
“Because her insurance won’t cover everything?”Desi’s voice was low, taut as a wire.
The compassion drained from his face like color from a photograph.“Listen, I know the system is flawed.But it’s out of my hands.Talk to the social worker.I don’t deal with finances.”
He turned, but Desi caught his sleeve in desperation, her fingers trembling.“How much does a transplant cost?”
He pulled free, irritation flashing before weariness softened it.“Four hundred thousand.”
Desi’s mind reeled.She could sellOcean’s Echo, sell everything.And maybe when her sister was well again, she could return to Caleb.Ifshe could find the Ring.Hope sprouted within her.“What if I could get that?”
“They won’t approve the transplant unless you can pay for the lifelong medications, around twenty thousand a year.If she can’t afford those, the new kidney will fail.”
“Dr.Mark Drummond.Dr.Drummond.Emergency in room 3B.”The announcement blared from the intercom, startling her.
He was gone before she could breathe another word.And with him, went all her hope.
Even if she soldOcean’s Echo, she could never afford the yearly medications.The numbers thundered in her skull like cannon fire—four hundred thousand… twenty thousand a year…
Desi drew in a slow, trembling breath, the sterile air burning her lungs.She pressed her palms to her eyes until spots flared, then forced herself upright.One step at a time.Smile.Be strong for Daria.
She pushed open the door.
The room was dim, hushed except for the rhythmic hum of machines.The smell of antiseptic mingled with a faint trace of rose—her sister’s desperate attempt to smother the hospital odor.The faint whir of oxygen mixed with the steadybeep-beepof a heart monitor, marking time like a slow, inevitable clock.
Daria turned her head slightly.“Hey, stranger,” she said, a fragile smile lifting her lips.Her skin looked almost translucent, veins visible beneath the pale surface, shadows like bruises under her eyes.“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Maybe I have.”Desi’s smile wobbled.“You’re too thin, Dar.When was the last time you ate something that wasn’t in liquid form?”
“Yesterday.”Daria shrugged weakly.“Or maybe the day before.Hard to tell when food tastes like pennies.”
A blade of fear scraped down Desi’s spine.She forced herself to move closer, focusing on the small details—the IV line, the pale flicker of her sister’s pulse beneath the skin.“What’s with the extra tube?”
“Antibiotics.Caught some germ or something.”Daria’s voice trembled, thin as paper.
Desi brushed a strand of hair from her sister’s forehead.“Just a dumb infection.You’ll be back on your feet in no time.”
“Maybe.”Daria’s eyes flicked toward the IV.“They tell me my kidneys are getting worse.And we both know we can’t afford the surgery or the post-transplant meds.”
Desi’s knees buckled, and she dropped into the chair beside the bed, clutching the armrest for balance.“There has to be something, some kind of assistance program—”
“Already tried.”Daria’s tone softened.“Don’t worry, Des.I’m okay.They say I’ve got a few good months left before…you know.”
“Don’t say that.”
“It’ll be okay, Des.”She reached out her swollen hand, the nails tinted blue, and squeezed weakly.“I’m going to a far better place.I’ll see Mom and Dad and Pops!”Despite the pallor of her face, a faint light flickered in her eyes—hope, or faith, or maybe both.
Silence fell between them, broken only by the mechanical beeping that measured her sister’s fading life.Desi took that fragile hand in hers—cool, trembling, impossibly light—and held on as if she could tether her to this world by will alone.
♥
Caleb had not crossed the threshold of Desi’s cabin since the moment she vanished two days past, though it felt an age.Each hour that passed only deepened the ache in his chest.He had half-expected her to reappear in some miracle, as she had once before, clad in that slick black seal-skin she called—what was it again?—a “wetsuit.”He gave a wan smile at the memory and hooked the lantern on the deckhead, its mellow glow spilling over the small, quiet space.
The scent of her lingered still, a faint trace of salt and lavender soap, and it struck him like a blow.
A soft rustle came from the cot.Patches stretched and yawned, then meowed sharply, as though scolding him for disturbing her peace.
“There you are, little one.”He sat upon the edge of the berth and lifted the cat, her fur warm against his calloused hands.“I miss her as well.”
