Page 58 of Family Secrets

Digging deep for the voice she used to get Granny to let her stay home from school. “I-I have cramps—"

“Oh, fuck no. Not girl shit!” Sully roared. “I don’t want to hear shit about bleeding and fucking aspirin. Take the rest of the day off, Elizabeth. Go home and deal with that shit.” Tossing up his hands and scurrying out of the office.

Elizabeth kept her eyes on the still open door, “Is he okay?”

Lisa turned her attention back to her computer screen. “Sully has an aversion to menstrual cycles. Last time I got mine unexpectedly, he stormed off, yelling some shit about not trusting anything that bled for a week and didn’t die.”

Elizabeth was no stranger to the phrase. Choosing to cash in on his aversion, she grabbed her coat and purse. “I’ll see you tomorrow, maybe.” Elizabeth tossed over her shoulder as she headed for the stairs.

Arriving at the hospital, Elizabeth wasn’t certain where to go in order to donate blood. Climbing from her car, she spotted a man in a lab coat smoking a cigarette at the side of the building.

“Excuse me?” Elizabeth called, gaining the attention of the man as he lifted the cigarette to his lips. “Do you work here?”

Smoke poured from his lips as the dark-haired man surveyed her up and down. “Yes, I’m a physician here.”

With his lab coat at an odd angle, Elizabeth can’t read his nametag. “Great, can you tell me where I would go to donate blood?”

“Well, the Red Cross has—"

“No, sir, not to the Red Cross. You see, I have a friend who needs a certain type of blood—”

“AB negative,” the doctor interrupted. “Heard the call go out earlier. Come on, I’ll show you where to go.”

Despite nearly passing out several times, Elizabeth was able to donate a pint of blood to her father; enough to hold him over until the plane from Texas arrived. The staff made her stay lying down, giving her cookies and juice to drink before she was deemed safe to travel home.

Evening had fallen since she’d arrived, casting shadows over the exterior of the hospital. As Elizabeth made to leave the hospital, she heard a voice calling from behind. “Hey, I take it by the late hour you were able to help your friend?”

“Yes,” Elizabeth touched her arm, the thick bandage evident even through her heavy coat. “Yes, I did. Thank you for your help.”

“Anytime,” the man nodded. “And be careful, they’re calling for snow tonight.”

“Thank you, I will.”

The man watched as Elizabeth exited the automatic doors, heading across the parking lot before climbing behind the wheel of a black Jaguar. Pulling out his phone, he kept his eyes on the car as the woman started it and backed out of the spot.

“Thought you should know; you were right about some bitch showing up here wanting to donate blood. She just left. It looks like the old bastard is gonna live after all.”

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