Page 24 of Letters From a Broken Heart
“Just… Make sure Taylor recovers. She means so much to our family. We’re happy something good can come out of our son’s death. Him losing his life could save a few others.”
“Why didn’t they tell us it was Jack’s heart?” Mrs. Gaines covers her mouth with her hand and stares at us in shock.
“I don’t think they can legally tell you,” I explain. “I didn’t want Taylor to know about the accident in case she could be a recipient. I didn’t want her to turn it down just because it was Jack’s heart.
“She’d do that.” Mr. Gaines nods his head with a sad smile. “If she knew Jack was gone, she wouldn’t want the heart. She’d say she was going to die rightalong with him.”
“That’s why you need to make sure she recovers well. I’m not losing her too. Taylor’s always been like a daughter to us and we want to see her get a happy and healthy future.”
We chat for a few more minutes before Dad and I excuse ourselves and head back to Jack’s room to find Mom. She’s sobbing into her hands and her shoulders are shaking uncontrollably. This is going to be difficult for all of us.
“Let’s go home, honey.” Dad scoops her into his arms and hugs her close. He glances at me and nods towards the door.
“I want to stay until Taylor’s out of surgery. I asked Mrs. Gaines to text me when the doctor talks to her.”
“It’s not your job to break the news to her, son.” Dad pins me with a look.
“I know, but I'm not letting her be alone. I want to be there for her. She’s going to need a lot of people around.”
“You’re a good man.” He smiles sadly at me and shakes his head. I want to ask what he means, but this isn't the time. He needs to get Mom home and I need to find something to entertain myself for the next few hours.
I’m not allowed to see Taylor for the first few days, but Mr. Gaines has been keeping me up to date on how she’s doing. She was taken off the ventilator this morning and he thinks I’ll be able to see her. It’s killing me to be away from her for this long. I need to see her and know she’s really ok.
I’m standing outside of Taylor’s room, waiting for the nurse to finish checking on her. I'm wringing my hands as I wait impatiently. I'm not sure if I'm nervous to see how she’s feeling or terrified of her finding out the truth.
“There’s someone who wants to see you. I told them they can only stay for a few minutes though; are you ok with having a visitor?” The nurse asks loudly enough for me to hear her.
“Yes! I want to see him.” The excitement in her voice makes my chest tighten and I feel like I can't breathe. She’s going to be heartbroken. Destroyed.
“You can go in, but you can't stay long,” the nurse says softly as she steps into the hallway.
“Does she know?”
“No.”
I nod my head and step inside the room. Taylor’s already staring at the door and her smile falls when she finds me and not Jack. Her brows draw together and she frowns.
“Easton? Where’s Jack? Isn't he here?”
As soon as the words are out of her mouth, she shakes her head and stares at me in embarrassment.
“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.”
She narrows her eyes on me and she stops talking. I can tell she’s noticing something is wrong and I instantly lose some of the control I have on my emotions.
“Taylor…” My voice breaks and my 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.”
She glances around the room, frantically looking for answers no one wants to give her. None of us want to be the one to break the news, but she needs to know. She deserves to know.
“Taylor, I need you to calm down. Your heart rate is too high and you’re going to stress 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 medication through Taylor’s system.
“She wants to know where Jack is,” Mrs. Gaines whispers.
Everyone is silent. The only noise in the room is the beeping on the monitor. The sound of Jack’s heart beating strongly in her chest. This is so hard.
“You can tell her now, but if she gets any more upset, we’re going to have to sedate her more.”
