Page 113 of Misery and Ecstasy

“We had to place McKinsey into a medically induced coma immediately following the procedure.”

My knees give out. Struggling to breathe, I feel my brothers guiding my fall into the chair behind me.

I don’t know how much more of this I can handle. Cradling my head in my hands, I feel an overwhelming fear beginning to seep into my bones.

It’s taunting me.

Telling me to buckle.

To give up.

To stop feeling again.

Because if you can’t feel, you can’t hurt.

If you can’t hurt, nothing can touch you.

But if I never learned how to feel, I wouldn’t have Kins.

If I didn’t open myself up to hurt, I wouldn’t know what love feels like.

I have to stay strong for her, so I can be here for her when she wakes up.

Because she will wake up.

And whatever hell I’m going through is nothing compared to hers.

Climbing back to my feet, I lock eyes on Dr. Faust again.

“How… How long do you think she’ll have to be out?”

“We’re not sure at this time, but we’ll be monitoring her progress in the ICU until we notice a marked change in her.”

“Can we see her?” Cheryl finally finds her voice.

“Yes, but only one person at a time.”

Cheryl turns to me, taking both of my hands in hers.

“You go, Draven. She’ll listen to you. Go … and bring our girl back to us. ”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

DRAVEN

It’s been two weeks since the operation.

I’m short on patience.

I’m short on nerves.

But when it comes to Kins, I’ll never run short on hope.

I’ll never give up on her.

I don’t possess that ability any longer. There is a renewed fury within me, and I’m more determined than ever to see to it that she returns to her old life.

Her mother and I have been rotating turns in and out of the ICU, Cheryl returning to her hotel with Alexander every evening while I spend the night with McKinsey in her room.

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