Page 60 of Bleeding Hearts

My fingers are covered in red droplets.

“Lals,” I whisper as I show her my fingers.

Her eyes widen as she turns my face to hers, and terror crosses her features for a second.

“Lals?”

“Your eyes . . . Your tears are red,” she whispers. “Blood. There’s blood coming from your eyes.” She turns and looks at my vomit. “There’s blood in your puke.”

I stare, unsure what to say or do.

She sweeps me into her arms and starts to run. “Lals?”

“I’ve got you. You’ll be okay,” she says, chanting it over and over, and I turn my head.

“I’m going to be sick,” I whine.

“It’s okay. Throw up on me, baby. We can’t stop,” she tells me, so I try to swallow it, but I throw up over her shoulder. She runs faster than I’ve ever seen her, and when we reach the road, she flags down a taxi and shoves us inside.

“The closest hospital, now!” she shouts before cupping my face as I gasp, weakness flooding me. “Shh, baby, it’s okay. Just stay with me.”

I nod, trying to promise her that I will, but my lips feel funny and no words come out. I try again. “Am I going to die?” I slur.

“No, baby, of course not,” she soothes, her forehead resting against mine. “You’re just sick, probably a bad reaction. You aren’t dying, not tonight, okay?”

I feel my tears fall harder as I shake, and all the energy I seemed to have floats away. “I’m scared, Lals,” I rasp.

Her tears splash on my face as we cuddle together in the back seat. “Shh, don’t be. I’m right here. I promised I’d never let anything happen to you. You’ll be fine. It’s all fine, baby.”

“I don’t want to die,” I croak.

Her sob makes my heart shatter. “You aren’t dying!” she snaps. “Just focus on me, nothing else.”

I nod and try to do as she asks. I can’t die.

I can’t break her heart, not like Tommy did.

My death would be the end of Lally, and this world needs her.

Even though oblivion claws at me, trying to claim me, I fight it for her. I’ll never leave her, not like Tommy did. We finally come to a stop, and she drags me out, keeping me in her arms as we burst through the doors of the emergency room. The lights are so bright they hurt my head, so I close my eyes.

“Help me! Please, help me!” she shouts, her voice tight and panicked. “Please! She’s hurt. Please, help me!”

I feel people moving around me, and then I’m on something soft, but it feels distant and blurry. Even my ears are ringing.

My body feels wrong . . . numb.

I force my eyes open and see white tiles whirring above us, then I realize I’m on a bed and we are moving. A doctor and a nurse are at my side, yelling as they run.

“I can’t lose her,” Lally sobs, her voice pulling me back from the numbness for a moment. She sounds upset. I need to reassure her. I turn my head to see her glazed eyes, her hand in mine. “Please, I can’t lose her. She’s all I have.”

“It’s okay. We’ll take care of her, but you need to give us room.” A nurse tugs her away, and our hands break apart, both of us reaching for each other as I am wheeled away. The last thing I see is Lally crumpling to her knees before everything goes dark.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

I’m finally starting to feel better after hours of vomiting blood and passing out. I was given something to flush my system and anti-nausea meds via IV and settled in a side room.

Lally holds my hand tightly, like she will never let go. Her makeup has tear tracks through it, and she won’t look away even for a second. “I’m okay,” I assure her just as the door opens and my doctor returns.