Love Rush (LarssonSiblingSeries#4)

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Levi

The rubber on the soles of my shoes squeaks when I take a sharp left and run down the long hospital corridor. I left my family - who insisted on coming here - at the entrance, needing to get to Tilly as quick as possible.

I search the big board on the ceiling for the ward Dylan said to meet them in and change direction when I see I'm going the wrong way. I'm so on edge I don't know left from right.

"Levi, in here," Dylan says when I push through the door and stare down the corridor of curtained off rooms.

I push back the pale blue curtain and spot Tilly looking all small and frail in the hospital bed. "Hey, sweetheart," I whisper.

"Lee?" she blinks several times, not seeming to be able to keep her gaze straight.

Dylan comes up behind me. "They need to pump her stomach. We're waiting for the doctor."

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

My feet take me over to the side of her bed where I smooth my hands all over her face. "Oh, sweetheart. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me."

Tilly wrenches away. "No," she gazes around the room. "Dylan?"

"Don't smother her right now," Dylan says, crossing his arms over his chest. Eyes haunted. "She's not herself."

I'm not happy about it, but I listen.

"Okay."

The curtain flaps in the wind and two doctors arrive, a nurse following them. Tilly is on edge then, body shaking when they start to lay out the apparatus.

"Where are you putting the tube?" she shouts, starting to cry.

One of the doctors smiles calmly in her direction. "It will be going down your throat. You won't feel a thing. I promise."

"Lee, help me," she says, shoulders shaking. "I don't want them to do it. Tell them. Tell them."

I grab hold of her hands and hold them to my chest. "Could you sedate her?"

The doctor who's opening a tub full of liquid glances at me. "No, sir. There are already drugs in her system. We have to be careful. It will be over in seconds. Once the tube is inside the oesophagus, there is no feeling."

I kneel at her bed and place my lips on her hand in mine. "Look at me."

She does.

"You're brave. I know it's not nice, but they need to do it. I'm here. I'm not leaving."

"Okay," she blinks several times.

The doctors get to work, positioning her on the bed right, measuring the tube. If I didn't want to be strong for Tilly; I'd be a mess right now.

"If you could both step outside for a moment," the nurse says kindly.

Dylan starts to move, but I'm frozen in place. I can't leave her. Not when she's so scared. My fingers clench into a fist when the nurse politely asks for me to move again. I need to stop thinking about my pain and let them do their job.

When the curtain closes, it seems to quieten down. My attention on listening out for Tilly. It's torture when she starts to cry, letting out a few choking noises. The doctor tells her that she's doing well, but it sounds like a murder scene in there.