Page 7 of Letters From a Broken Heart
“Yes! I want to see him.”
I forget all about my parents and their tears as I impatiently stare at the door, waiting for him to appear.
When Easton’s large frame fills the door, I frown. I thought Jack would be beating down the doors to get to me, not Easton.
“Easton? Where’s Jack? Isn't he here?” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I realize how horrible they sound. “Not that I don’t want to see you. Wow, I sound like such a jerk right now. It’s just… I called Jack when my beeper went off. I assumed it was him trying to see me.”
I take a closer look at him. There’s no easy smile like I'm used to seeing. No mischief in his eyes. In fact, there are tears on his cheeks too.
“Taylor…” his voice breaks and his body shakes with a sob.
“What’s going on? Where’s Jack? Why is everyone crying? This is supposed to be a happy time for us.”
I glance frantically around the room. My gaze keeps bouncing from one person to the next. Where is Jack? Why isn't anyone answering my questions?
“Taylor, I need you to calm down. Your heart rate is too high and you’re going to stress out your new heart.” A nurse rushes into the room with some sort of medication in her hand. She secures it to the IV and quickly pushes the plunger to send the medication through my system.
“She wants to know where Jack is,” Mom whispers.
Everyone is silent. The only noise in the room is the beeping on the monitor. The foreign heart beating in my chest.
“You can tell her now, but if she gets any more upset, we’re going to have to sedate her more.”
“You might as well get the medication now. She’s going to lose it,” Dad’s voice doesn’t even sound like his. I’ve never heard him sound so broken.
The nurse disappears and comes back a few seconds later with another syringe. She nods to Dad and he opens his mouth, but it’s Easton who talks.
It’s Easton who shatters my world with two sentences.
“He’s gone, Tay. He was in a car accident and he didn’t make it.” Easton takes my hand in his as big tears fall from his chin and splash across our joined fingers.
“What? No! That can’t be! I just talked to him the morning of my surgery and he was fine! Where is he, Easton!”
“He died. Some girl was texting on her phoneand didn’t realize how curvy the road was. She swerved and hit him. He hit his head and there was a brain bleed. His heart was still working, but he was brain dead.”
“No! I don’t believe you. I want to see Jack. Get me Jack, Easton! Please!”
He closes the distance between us and wraps his arms gently around me. He’s careful not to hurt me, but I don’t want him to touch me. I want Jack. I fight against his hold as much as I can, but everything hurts.
“I know, Tay. I hate that he’s gone, but at least he gave you back to me. He gave you a second chance.”
“What are you talking about? How did he give me a second chance?”
“Your heart donor… Your heart is from Jack, sweetie.” Mom places her hand on my shoulder and rubs up and down my arm.
No… No, no, no. This can't be happening. This has to be a terrible nightmare. There’s no way Jack is gone. There’s no way the heart I was so excited to get came from my boyfriend.
My heart hurts… Jack’s heart.
“I don’t want a second chance! Not if he’s not here! I want to die.”
“Don’t say that, Tay. I need you. You have to stay here with me or his death was for nothing,” Easton’s voice breaks again as more tears slipdown his cheeks.
I gasp and sit up in bed. My body is covered in a light sheen of sweat and my hair is sticking to my forehead.
My hand flies to my chest where the raised scar is and I squeeze my eyes shut as hard as I can. It wasn’t a bad dream. Dreams are something your mind comes up with. No. This was reliving the worst day of my life.
How often am I going to wake up like this? How often am I going to be reminded of how I got my new heart?
