I rub a hand down my face, pushing away the tears. “Do what?” I ask in a hoarse whisper.
“Blame yourself. Think that everyone would be better off without you. That you brought this shit raining down on everyone -”
“Ididbring this!” I reply through clenched teeth.
“No. You. Didn’t,” Willa says, punctuating every word with a hard jab of a finger into my chest. “Your ex-husband did this. Not you.”
I stare at her as her eyes bore into mine, full of fire, not putting up with my pity party for one moment. “I see you, Joy. I know what you’ve been through because I have survived the same. My piece of shit husband died and left me to pick up the pieces. And I did. But every time something good happened to me, every time I met someone I made a connection with, every time I was happy, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was convinced that good things never happened to someone like me. I was wrong.”
My gaze moves around the room again, on the people hurting because their friend, Ol Man, brother, is through those doors fighting to survive. None of them have blamed me. None of them were angry or disgusted with me. Instead they bundled me up and brought me here. So I could sit with them and cry with them and worry with them.
“Ah, now she’s getting it,” Willa grins with a nod, before looking over her shoulder and winking at Jazz, whose shoulders relax.
I give Jazz a watery smile, and then all the other women. “Thank you.”
“No worries, chick. Remember, I’ve been where you are,” Willa says, patting my shoulder.
“And now look at you.” I smile up at her, as she grins back.
The doors to the operating room slam open, banging off the wall, revealing Switch. Wild eyed, full of panic.
“Oh no!” My hand covers my gaping mouth and my stomach drops.
“I need blood.”
“We’re in a hospital, shouldn’t they fucking have blood?” Rider asks through gritted teeth, not the happy go lucky man I'm used to.
“It’s taken us longer to stop the bleeding than it should have. We have one unit of O Neg left and he’s going through that now. We’ve called all the surrounding towns that can get here within two hours but there was a pileup in Roxburgh, all bags have been sent there. We don’t have enough.” Switch runs a hand down his exhausted face. “Rhodie, Mad Dog, I need you to live donate.”
“What?” Mad Dog whispers, reaching instinctively for Willa.
“We run a line from you directly to Marx. It’s our only option.” Switch says, the lines of worry on his face stark under the fluorescent lights.
Rhodie slumps down in his seat, running his hands roughly through his hair. “Fuck.” he murmurs, looking at Mad Dog sadly. “Me and dad are both A positive. We’re not a match.”
“No. But he is,” Chewy says, pointing a finger at Roman. He is looking worse for the wear too; his pristine suit crumpled and stained where the bullet that hit Marx went through him first. Only a graze he says and I guess the huge bandaid covering his side can attest to that.
“What?” Gus asks, staring at his sister.
“They’re brothers.”
The room is silent. No one says a word, no one even breathes until Roman stands to his full height, and then I see it. The same dark eyes. The same almost black hair, so much darker than Mad Dog and Rhodie’s. The same line of their noses. All the small things that made Marx look different to Rhodie, is what makes him resemble Roman. Mad Dog stares at Roman, as if seeing him for the first time.
“Fucking hell,” Mad Dog rasps out, slumping back into his chair. “Elena was your mother?”
“Da. And she left me, just as she left you and Marx. It’s what she does-”
Roman’s words are cut off as Rhodie lunges for him, grabbing him by his shirt and shoving him into the wall. “How long were you going to keep this secret? Why the fuck are you here? To fuck with us? You’ve been pulling strings and fucking us this whole time, to what? Get back at Marx, at us? Why?” He roars out the last words and Sasha steps up, glaring at Rhodie.
“You will take your hands off him. Roman has done everything to keep you safe. Do not question his methods or his commitment to protecting hisbrat.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you’ve done I need blood and it looks like you’re it. Tell me you're O Neg and then get your ass in here,” Switch booms, his voice reverberating off the sterile walls.
“I am O negative.” Roman moves toward Switch before turning to look around the room. “I will answer all questions once your brother is stable.” He nods and then disappears, following Switch, the doors swinging wildly behind them.
We sit quietly, the clock on the wall ticking loudly, doing nothing to soothe my thoughts.
“Soooo, just addressing the elephant in the room,” Tav begins, “How the fuck did you know Roman and Marx are brothers?”
