She had looked at me with her soft eyes and nodded. “No more goodbyes, got it.” She had tried to laugh, and again, I kissed her. Then she was gone, and I hadn’t even managed to say I loved her back. Now I was hit with the realization that those words I hadn’t even let her finish might be the last ones I ever heard from her.
I didn’t want the last word I said to her to be— The door opened, and this time I didn’t look up until the shoes of a man came into view.
“Amy?” The doctor’s voice was kind of tired.
Slowly, I lifted my head, barely believing my eyes as I stared at him through my bloodshot eyes.
“Doctor?” At any second, I expected his form to disappear.
“Have you been here all this time?” he glanced around. “Alone?”
I didn’t bother nodding. Instead, I climbed to my feet and swayed.
God, I was tired, both emotionally and physically. It felt like I was on my feet by pure willpower alone.
“My sister?” My voice was croaking. “Can I see her?”
“Let’s sit down, Amy.”
The swaying intensified, and my heart plummeted into my toes. My vision turned black. Dimly, I was aware of his firm hand under my elbow. He guided me into my seat and took the one next to me.
“Deep breath, Amy. Just breathe, please.”
I was breathing, wasn’t I? It took me a few extra breaths to realize I was hyperventilating.
“Is she?” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. I refused to say the word dead.
“No, Amy. Alessia is—”
Not letting him finish, I launched myself off the chair and at him, holding him to my chest as I sobbed. “Oh, thank you. Thank you so much, doctor.” Relief flooded me.
She was going to be OK. And that made all of this OK. All thewaiting and tears and panic seemed to melt away, and a weight lifted off my shoulders.
“Amy, you have to let me talk.” He untangled himself from my arms. “There were some complications.”
And just like that, my happiness disappeared. “What?”
“She arrested several times.”
“But she’s alive. The heart—”
“We have to remain hopeful. Alessia’s body is fighting very hard, so we can’t give up on her yet. She is going to need you to be strong for her, Amy. Can you do that?”
He was talking to me like I was a child, and I didn’t even care. As long as Alesia was still breathing, I could be strong.
“Can I see her?”
He looked dubious. “She is in ICU. We have had to place her in a medically induced coma to give her body a chance to get strong enough. I think the best thing for everyone is for you to go home. Is there someone I can call?” Again, he looked around. “Your husband, maybe?”
“No,” I said deadpan. “There’s no one.”
His eyes filled with sympathy, “I see, but you do need to go home and rest, Amy. You can barely sit up, and you aren’t any use to Alessia if you make yourself ill.”
I straightened my shoulders. “I’m not going anywhere until I see her.” My voice was strong, much stronger than I felt.
For several seconds, he stared at me, and then he sighed. “I can see there’s no point arguing with you. Come on then, let’s reunite my favorite sisters.” He took my elbow and helped me keep my feet.
We walked the length of the hallway and then got into the elevator. The entire time he spoke in a quiet, calming voice, but I barely heard a word he said.
