Her words were cut off as the curtains were ripped back. My heart leaped out of my chest. I lifted my head, expecting to see Alexei.
Instead, I came face-to-face with one of the nurses who took care of my sister. Any hope I had evaporated.
“I’m sorry, Amy,” she whispered.
The world around me tilted. “No,” I croaked. “No, no, no.” My voice rose to a deafening pitch. “Please, no.”
I didn’t know who I was begging, anyone who listened.
“Is she?” Mrs. Cole’s voice was a hiss. “Is Alessia?”
“They are working on her now, but—” the nurse’s eyes met mine, and my heart shattered into a million pieces. “I’m sorry, Amy, but you need to come now.”
Shoving the blankets off my legs, I tried to stand. The doctor pushed me back. “You can’t walk anywhere.”
“It’s my sister.” I screamed it in his face, my spit flying. I shoved at him. “She needs me,”
“Here.” Micah appeared, a wheelchair in front of him. “She won’tbe walking, doc, but she will be going to say goodbye to her sister. Even if I have to carry her.”
Two seconds later, I was being wheeled towards the elevator. Mrs. Cole and the nurse rushed by my side as Micah pushed, and it seemed to take an age before the elevator doors opened and we were speeding up the building to the ICU.
As usual, it was eerily quiet.
It made the thundering of my heart even louder, and my breath sounded heavy in my ears.
“Please, please, please.” The words ran together. A mumbled prayer to a God I didn’t believe in, but I would believe in him if he just gave me my sister back.
He couldn’t save my child and take my sister. That’s not how it was meant to work.
“Amy,” my sister’s room opened, and the doctor stepped outside. His face was tight. “I am so sorry.”
I wailed like a wounded animal. No. This couldn’t be happening. I refused to believe it.
“Is she?” Micah’s voice shook.
“The machines are keeping her alive right now, but she’s brain-dead.”
I lifted my head. “What does that mean? She isn’t dead?”
“Amy.” Crouching down, he took both of my hands gently. “Alessia is gone, her heart gave out, and the lack of oxygen to her brain means she won’t ever wake up. The machines are keeping her alive, technically.” His voice was full of tears. “You have a decision to make, and it’s not going to be easy.”
“Can I see her?”
Stepping back, he allowed me to be wheeled inside. My sister was right where I had left her, in the middle of the room, surrounded by wires and tubes. And she looked peaceful. She didn’t look like she was in pain anymore.
A sob ripped out of my throat. “She’s not here anymore, is she? She’s already gone.”
“I am so sorry, Amy.” Mrs. Cole was crying as well. “I am so sorry this is happening to you.”
“Can I stay with her? When are the machines turned off?” Tears ripped their way out of my eyes, but the sobbing had quietened. I swallowed hard. “Can I hold her hand so she’s not alone?”
“Of course, Amy. You can sit with her for as long as you want.”
“Thank you.” My voice was almost normal.
“We will be right outside, Amy,” Micah said firmly. “If you need anything, then call for us.”
“Thank you,” I told them, and I meant it from the bottom of my heart. Alexei’s staff has done more for me than he ever had. Someone pushed me towards my sister’s bed. I didn’t see who, and I took her hand as the door closed quietly.
