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I open my eyes and realize everything that happened wasn‘ t a dream. I’m in a hospital, and my body feels like it’s been through a war. Every part of me hurts, especially my stomach, where the bullet hit me. My first thought is for my baby. I hold my belly, terrified that something happened to my child. I can’t lose the only thing I had left to hold on to.
I hear footsteps, and the door opens. Becca walks in, looking relieved when she sees that I’m awake. “Oh my,” she says, her voice full of worry. “You‘ re awake.” Her eyes are red, like she’s been crying.
Before I can say anything, the doctor enters, holding a tablet in his hand. He doesn’t look happy, his face full of sadness. My heart starts racing. I can feel the dread building up inside me. I don‘ t want to hear whatever news he‘ s about to give me. But I can’t stop myself from
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asking, “Is my child okay? Did the gunshot. affect the baby?”
The doctor hesitates, and that’s when I know it’s bad. He takes a deep breath before he says the words I wasn’t ready to hear. “I’m sorry, you lost your child.”
The world around me stops. It feels like everything has come crashing down. My baby, the little life I was carrying, is gone. I feel numb. I can’t breathe. I try to hold back the tears, but they come anyway, flooding down my face. The only thing I had left to live for, the one thing that gave me hope, is now gone. I cry out loud, and Becca rushes to my side, holding me, but it’s not enough. The pain is too much. I feel empty inside.
“Please, doctor,” I manage to say through my tears, “don‘ t tell anyone that I was pregnant. Please, keep it a secret. No one else can know.” I can‘ t bear the thought of anyone else knowing, especially Keith. Not after what he did. Not after he chose
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Georgia over me. He wasn’t even here. He was with her, not with me. I’m the one. who got shot, not her. I can’t stop the tears, and the pain in my chest feels like it might break me. I take in a shaky breath, trying to calm myself, but it’s hard.
Becca sits beside me, rubbing my back gently. “Are you thinking about Keith?” she asks, her voice softer now. “Stop doing this to yourself. Think about your health. He’s probably with Georgia right now. He didn’t even come to see how you‘ re doing. How selfish of him.”
Her words sting, but they‘ re the truth. Keith had made his choice. He picked Georgia over me. And now I’m here, alone, with nothing left but the pain in my chest and the empty space where my child
should have been.
Before I can respond, the door opens. again. This time, it’s Keith. He walks in, and behind him, there are a couple of doctors. My heart skips a beat. What is he
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doing here? Shouldn’t he be with. Georgia? I don‘ t understand.
Keith walks toward me, looking at me with a strange expression. He doesn’t seem happy to see me awake. He looks… almost relieved. But his next words leave me completely confused. “Eden… I couldn’t believe this, but you could make Georgia heal fast and walk again.”
What is he talking about? I stare at him, not understanding. I feel my head spin. “I don‘ t understand,” I say weakly. “What are you saying?”
Keith looks at the doctors for a moment, then turns back to me. “Georgia needs a bone marrow transplant to walk again. We’ve been looking for a matching donor, and we found out you‘ re a match. You can help her. I’m asking you to give her the bone marrow.”
I sat there, stunned, my mind trying to catch up with his words. I can’t process this. He wants me to give my bone marrow
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to Georgia? The woman he chose over me? The woman who, just hours ago, he had picked to be by his side? I stare at him in disbelief.
I was so shocked to hear him say such a thing. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Keith just walked into my hospital room without even knocking, like I was nothing. He didn’t even care if I was okay. He didn’t care if I was alive or dead. The only thing that seemed to matter to him was Georgia, his precious Georgia. The one he had chosen over me.
I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I looked at him, eyes burning with anger. “You must be out of your mind,” I told him, my voice shaking, but I wasn‘ t backing down. He looked at me, totally shocked, like he didn’t expect me to say that. For a moment, his smile faltered, and for a split second, I thought maybe he realized how wrong he was. But no. He quickly pulled himself together, hiding whatever doubt he might‘ ve had.
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He didn’t care about me anymore. It was
all so clear now.
“Do you really hate my friend this much and want her to die?” Becca, my best, asked. She was standing between us, trying to protect me. But I could tell she was nervous. Keith didn’t like people standing in his way. He glared at Becca like she was a bug, and he ordered his men to drag her out. I wanted to tell him to leave her alone, but it wouldn’t have mattered.
“I need my friend right now,” I said, my voice low and shaking.
Keith didn’t care. “Your friend is interrupting a family meeting right now,” he said, almost like he was annoyed.
I couldn’t believe my ears. “Family meeting?” I scoffed. “My parents aren’t here. Your parents aren’t here. What are you talking about? You‘ re calling this a family meeting?”
I couldn’t stand him. This wasn‘ t a
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family. It was just him,
he wanted.
Keith didn’t seem to know how to
respond to that, but I wasn‘ t going to give him any more of my time. “I‘ m not giving bone marrow to Georgia,” I told him. “And if you could just leave me alone for a moment, I’d really appreciate it.”
my
I turned away from him, hoping he would just leave me to rest, but right then, the door opened again. It was Georgia. She was still leaning on her crutches like she was some poor, fragile thing.
“Keith, I told you not to bother her,” Georgia said, looking at me with a smug smile. “I‘ ll be fine. I can wait. I’ll find another donor. It’s just going to take a little more time.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was so tired of this. I stared at her, disbelief written all over my face. “Thank goodness you know I would never agree to this,” I said, feeling the anger rise in me. “I’m not
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going to risk my life for you. I don’t care what you say. Why do I feel like you‘ re faking it? Why do I feel like you‘ re pretending to be sick?”
‘re
Her face froze. She didn’t expect me to figure it out. She staggered back like she was going to fall, acting like I had just slapped her. I could see right through her, though. She wasn‘ t some poor, helpless woman who needed Keith to save her. She was playing all of us.
Keith was already rushing to her side, like he was worried she might actually collapse right there in front of him. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice full of concern. His eyes. were on her, not me. He didn’t care if I
was okay.
If only I had known sooner. She wasn’t sick. She wasn‘ t hurt. It was all an act. She had been pretending this whole time. And I had believed it. I had been a fool.
Just then, the doctor walked in, looking serious. “We need to start the transplant
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now,” he said. “If we wait too long, she could lose her legs forever.”
The doctor looked at me, waiting for my response. “We need to do this right now, or it might be too late,” he said, his tone making it clear that there was no time to
waste.
Keith looked at me, his face serious. “We’re starting the transplant now, Eden. Whether you like it or not, it has to be done. Georgia can’t lose her legs.”
