Page 144 of Are You Going to Love Me

Eden nodded.

“Do you feel me?”

“Y-yes,” Eden whimpered.

“Okay, just breathe. Just look at me.”

“You need to go,” Keon directed.

“That’s my dau-”

Keon squared his shoulders, blocking Anzel’s view. “I said you need to leave. Now.”

Anzel glared at him.

Keon did a double knock against the wall and leaned in to whisper.

“Bodies are going to start dropping. I’d hate to see yours drop before the feds drag you off to prison.” He pulled back. “Leave.”

Anzel swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped away, leaving her girls like she’d done every other time.

“Are y’all here for Maximus Burton?” a nurse asked, appearing in the hall once Anzel scurried off.

Eden moved Staysha’s hands and jolted to her feet. She was still in a state of shock, but she needed to know about his well-being. “Y-yeah. Yeah. He’s good?”

“He got here just in the nick of time. He lost a lot of blood. The bullet hit an artery in his shoulder. Are any of you AB positive?”

“I’m O positive,” Eden stated.

“I am, too,” Staysha spoke up.

The nurse waved them both down the hall, handing them over to another nurse who started the process. Testing each sister for the necessary things before sending the bags of blood back. They collected at least three bags from Staysha after stopping Eden altogether.

“W-what’s wrong with my blood?” Eden quizzed.

The nurses shared a look.

“When was your last checkup?” one nurse asked.

“I can’t take any more bad news, just talk!” Eden snapped.

Staysha reached over and grabbed Eden’s hand. “Eden...”

The other nurse stepped in, assessing Eden’s emotional state. “We run a rapid panel in these situations to make sure we aren’t administering blood with STDs, HIV/AIDS, sickle cell, or anything else. We also screen for pregnancy. Your rapid panel showed high levels of HCG. You’re pregnant, so we can’t take any more blood from you.”

Eden didn’t respond. She just sat there.

“Oh my God,” Staysha softly gasped. Their current situation didn’t call for a squeal or clap of excitement. “Well, now we know why you’re on one.”

That brought Eden back. She removed her hand from Staysha’s and sat quietly while the nurses bandaged her back up.

“Eden,” Staysha called.

Eden shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

Staysha could feel the weight and chose to let it go. Back in the waiting room, Eden stood in the window, her arms wrapped around herself. She watched the sun move from its position in the sky for what seemed like mere seconds as her mind ran.

“Is there an Eden?” the doctor asked, finally coming out.

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