“You have no right to be here.”
Mother scoffs. “She’s my daughter.”
“And you sold her off like livestock,” I say through gritted teeth as I take a step toward her and she backs up. “You are nothing more than a vile, pathetic cunt and if I were you, I would take what little money you got for your own blood and run far, far away before the police show up at your door. But I would hurry because I just gave my statement to the detective a few minutes ago.”
All the color drains from her face and her back hits the wall. “Carly, dear, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really? So, Damian Griggs and Julian Henshaw didn’t pay you five hundred thousand dollars each for your daughters? And then those same men didn’t kidnap and beat said daughters, making you an accessary on top of a human trafficker?”
“I…I didn’t know,” she whispers. “I thought they were good men.”
I shake my head. “No, you didn’t. You just cared more about maintaining your lifestyle than you did about your children.”
“Carly,” she starts but I shake my head, pointing to Ivy in the bed.
“Look at her!” I scream, tears falling from my eyes again. “Look at what you did to your daughter, your flesh and blood. Is the money really that important to you?”
“Carly,” she starts and I shake my head.
“Fucking look at her!” I wail. Chance presses a hand to the small of my back. She still refuses to look at Ivy and my body shakes as I close my eyes and suck in a breath.
“I’m done with this conversation. If I ever see you again, I’ll punch you in the face and I don’t give a damn if you’re my mother.”
“I’m calling security,” the doctor says, his gaze bouncing between the three of us and I roll my eyes.
Great timing, asshole.
“No. I’m leaving,” she whispers. A second later, the door closes and I sag against Chance, letting out a breath. Damn, I’m exhausted. Chance leads me back to my wheelchair and helps me sit down.
“I’m sorry to have to do this now given all you’ve been through, but we need to talk about your sister’s care,” Dr. Price says and I nod, rolling closer and taking her hand. He looks down at her chart and sighs. “There’s no easy way to say this so I’ll just come right out and say it. We’ve run every test we can on Ivy, some of them twice, and we can’t detect any brain activity.”
I gasp, all the air rushing out of my body as I stare at him, my mind freezing. “What? What are you saying?”
“I’m saying your sister is brain dead. I’m so sorry.”
“No,” I say, a sob rising up in my throat.
“There’s more.”
I meet his gaze and he fiddles with the corner of her chart. “Your sister had a will and in it, she named you her proxy so the decision on what to do next is yours.”
“Are you telling me I have to decide whether to unplug my baby sister or not?” I ask, tears spilling down my cheeks and he nods, hanging his head. I turn back to Ivy and cover my mouth with my hand as I struggle to breathe.
No.
I can’t do this.
* * * *
“Are you ready?” Dr. Price asks, his compassionate gaze flicking around the room to all the people lined up along the back wall before focusing back on me. I grab Ivy’s hand and struggle to breathe as I peek over my shoulder. Chance places a hand on the small of my back and presses a kiss to my head.
“I’ve got you, Princess,” he whispers and pain ripples through my chest as I close my eyes. I don’t know if I can do this. The past two days have been a whole new kind of hell on Aunt Dottie and me. We’ve had endless meetings with doctors and run all kinds of tests on Ivy, only to learn what we already know. There is no brain activity. It doesn’t make any sense to me. She’s here. I can reach out and touch her, feel the warmth of her skin, but in any way that really counts, she’s gone. I’ll never see that silly grin of hers or give her a hard time about showing up late again. She’s just... gone, ripped away from us way too soon.
How will we ever fill this hole?
Glancing up at Dr. Price, I shake my head. “I don’t think I can do this.”
He nods, taking a step back from the bed. “Take all the time you need. It’s okay.”
On the other side of the bed, Dottie sniffles and meets my eyes. “It’s time, Honey. She wouldn’t want us to keep her like this.”
“There’s supposed to be so much more. She’s supposed to fall in love, get married, and have babies. We’re supposed to spend Christmases and birthdays together. She’s supposed to be here with me for so much longer. How am I supposed to do this?” I cry. Chance kneels in front of me and meets my gaze, moisture pooling in his eyes.
“I know, baby,” he whispers, cupping my cheek. “But you know Ivy better than anyone else in this world. What would she want?”
A sob rips out of my throat and I look over his head to my baby sister, lying in the bed. I know he’s right, but can I force the words out of my mouth? How can I give the instructions that will kill Vi?
Blaze steps forward from the back of the room and stands behind my chair, putting his hand on my shoulder. “We’re all here for you, Carly.”
One by one, the guys follow him – Smith, Kodiak, Fuzz, Moose, Streak and Storm. Ali and Izzy come over and kneel by my feet, placing their hands on my knee and I look up, meeting Dottie’s gaze. She nods as a steady stream of tears trail down her cheeks.
“Set her free, Honey.”
I look up at Dr. Price. “Will it be quick?”
He shakes his head. “It just depends on the patient. Most go fairly quickly, though.”
“Will she be in any pain?” I whisper, focusing on her face as my breathing stutters.
“No, ma’am. She won’t feel a thing.”
Dottie nods and a few of the guys gently touch my back or arms, offering me the support I need to choke the words out. After a moment, I nod at Dr. Price and he turns, pressing a few buttons on one of the machines at the head of her bed. A nurse comes up and together they pull the breathing tube out of her throat before stepping back.
“Her respirations will begin slowing down and once they stop altogether, her heart will stop beating.”
Panic slams into me like a freight train, my mind screaming to rewind time and I tense up on my chair, my heart pounding.
No, we’ve made a mistake.
We can’t do this.
I can’t lose her.
“Stop. No, we can’t do this,” I gasp, reaching out to grab her hand again.
Chance wraps his arm around my waist and presses his forehead against my hair. “I’ve got you, baby.”
A sob echoes through the room and my heart hammers away in my chest as I watch the monitor, waiting and dreading the moment the numbers start going down.
“We love you, Sweetie,” Dottie whispers, reaching up to stroke her face. “It’s okay to go.”
Ali and Izzy stand and move to the end of the bed, placing their hands on her feet as tears pour down their faces. My body feels numb as I glance up at the monitor, noticing her respirations are slower than a moment before and my own heart feels sluggish like I’m dying right alongside her. Tears pour down Dottie’s face as she reaches up and strokes Ivy’s hair out of her face before grabbing her hand and bringing it to her lips.