Sins and Reborns

Chapter twenty-seven

GRACE

They tubed Wes up to a bunch of tubes and bandages. He was sent to a private room to be treated. They ran a bunch of tests and put an oxygen mask over his mouth to help him breathe. A medical dropper sat next to his bed, hooked to him, giving him all the supplies he needed to live.

I was sent in three hours and forty minutes later to see him. Doctor Davidson sat at his bedside, checking Wes' chart with a frown. I walked in with the same filthy nightgown, and he frowned at that. I'd not let anyone check me. The thought of someone touching me was enough to leave me slumped at Wes' bedside. I'd slump to the floor in a weakling heap if someone touched me. The blood had dried into the clothing. Of course, I'd gotten some curious stares as I waited in the waiting area, but they had no idea of my pain, so I left them to their minds.

What little dignity I'd had left was abandoned in that rotten house.

Wes chucked out any of that dignity with his health.

God, I worried about him.

The doctor watched me sit and clasp Wes' hand with my blood-stained fingers. "How is he? Will he be okay?"

I saw that sliver of doubt on his face. He had that worn look on his face that Connor got whenever he looked at me. The look he got when asked about his father. Doctor Davidson eyed Wes' chart again with a tight smile. "Grace... Wes is..."

"Wes is what?"

"Wes isn't okay," he said at last. "Wes has many complications."

I frowned. That kind of medical thought confused me. "I don't understand... what kind of complications?"

Davidson put down the chart and came over to Wes' bedside. "Wes lived in bad conditions for years. I'm guessing both of your lifestyles haven't been healthy. Do you both eat and drink regularly?" I shook my head. "There lies Wes' health problems. If we don't get enough nutrients, then our organism starts to fight against it, and eventually, it will..."

If the heart monitor was attached to me, it would accelerate and beep. It would scream and possibly wake any dreamers. Unlike Wes' that beat smoothly, mine would scream like a child screaming for their mother in a store.

"It will stop?"

No. Don't say that. Don't answer that. Please, God, please don't –

"We can't live without proper nutrients for long, Grace." He cast his gaze down. "He's young too, so his organism needs more to go on. He needs to grow into a strong boy. As you probably understand, Wes' body has lacked all those nutrients."

"What about surgery?" I rushed to say, the concern in me talking. "Surgery helps. Cancer patients have lived for many more years after being diagnosed and fixed. Wes is not a cancer patient, I know that, but he can... he can be fixed."

The doctor eyed the little boy in bed, checked his chart again, and turned to me. The forced smile was the confirmation of my worst fears. "I can run some more tests, but I can't promise anything. But all you can do right now is be there for him. Wesley needs you more than ever."

I nodded and scooted my chair closer to Wes' bedside. I palmed both of his hands and squeezed my eyes shut. I felt the rhythmic pulse of his heart. The doctor quietly shut the door behind him, saying he'd be back later to check on my little brother. The boy who had not lived enough. The boy who I had not maybe rescued in time.

"Stay... for me. Stay for me, please," I pleaded with a constricting heart. "You're the love of my life, Wes. You're what I dream of succeeding in a dream life. So you have to stay for me. I... I need you. I can't live without you."