“Yeah,” I grumbled. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing that he hits like a bitch,” I countered, forcing myself to grin.
Bull’s head shot up to look at me, but not two seconds later that frown of his had turned into a full smile. “Fuck you,” he growled. “I thought I fucking killed you.”
“I’m so glad he didn’t,” Ruby exclaimed, her hand clutching mine.
“You’re not dead.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry for leaving the way I did, Cap. I was scared… I wasn’t…”
“Ready? I know. I shouldn’t have taken things as far as I did.”
Zodiac motioned for the other guys to leave the room, leaving me and Ruby alone.I’m so glad he can read a room.
“I’m glad you did, Nicholas,” she whispered. “If you hadn’t, I may have never let Chase go.”
She had a new red pendant around her neck, one I hadn’t seen before. She saw me staring at it and smiled. “He’ll always be a part of me, but this is what’s left of him. I’m ready to move forward, Nicholas. If you want to move forward with me that is? I’ve grown attached to you, and I’m thankful that fate broughtyou into my life when it did, otherwise I may not be here right now.”
I nodded. “I’m glad you’re still here, Ruby. When you left, my future seemed so bleak without you.”
She bent down to kiss me, but before our lips could touch, my heart doctor waltzed into the room.
“Nicholas!” he said with a smile. “I’m so happy to see you awake.”
“Me too, Doc. What’s the damage this time?”
He grinned. “Nothing life-altering. Your heart is still as strong as the day we put it in you.”
Carefully, I sat up, groaning as I did. “Any damage?”
“A little. You took a hard hit, but your friends were able to keep your heart going long enough to get you here. Once here, we assessed everything, and your heart looks good.”
“So, what happened?”
“I think you went into shock, and the force of the blow may have been a little too much for you, but like I said, you’re okay. You still have a lot of life left in you.”
“How long?”
“If we’re lucky… a good ten to fifteen years.”
Ruby gasped.
“But some patients have lived longer. Thirty years in some cases. It all depends on how you take care of yourself, Nicholas. Taking those immunosuppressants we gave you, and keeping your excitement down, will help a lot.”
Ruby relaxed a bit, but squeezed my hand even harder.
The doctor opened up my chart and read down the page. “Okay, I see here that your blood type is AB negative, and that we did your transplant on…” he flipped through a few pages. “December Seventeenth, am I correct?”
I nodded, but not before noticing Ruby’s face go white.
“Ruby, are you okay?”
She practically fainted into the chair, her hand clutching mine as she looked up at the doctor. “What day did you say he got his transplant?”
“December Seventeenth… why?”
Her hand instinctively went up to her locket, holding it tightly in her fist.
“Chase died on December Seventeenth… he was AB negative, too.”
