Chapter 9
In an instant, everything fell silent.
My eyes burned red with panic, and I broke down, sobbing. “Let go! Get away from me!”
I could have saved him. I was sure of it.
I’d heard him say he wanted to live. We’d finally found a matching heart.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, uncontrollable..
I couldn’t break free from the grip that felt like a steel vise around my wrist. My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the floor in utter despair.
“Please,” I pleaded, voice raw, “let me go. I have to save him.”
Jasper Green clung to my hand, his grip desperate. But then, as if he’d seen something too horrifying to bear, his face went ghostly pale and he stumbled back a step.
He stared at me, dazed, his voice barely a whisper. “No… How? How could this be? Did you really… really forget?”
All color drained from his face. Suddenly, he knelt.in front of me, cupping my face in his trembling hands, drawing me close.
“I’m right here, Claire. What are you doing? Look at me–look at me carefully. I’m your brother.”
From the corner of my eye, I could see Frederick Austin lying motionless in the snow, silent and
still.
I shook my head in terror. “You’re not!”
A terrible fear flickered in Jasper’s eyes, growing larger by the second.
“Claire… Claire… I’m your brother. You really… you really don’t remember me?”
I tried to push him away, but my strength was gone; I could only struggle feebly.
Tears slid down my cheeks, and suddenly a laugh burst out of me, sharp and bitter.
“My brother? Mr. Green, you’re just a friend of his. Did you forget? You fell into the river too–maybe you hit your head and can’t remember?”
Jasper’s hands shook violently as he cradled my face, forcing me to look at him. His eyes were bloodshot, wild and lost.
“No. No, I won’t believe this!”
His voice faded from my ears, growing distant. All I could see was Frederick Austin, lying in the snow as flakes swirled down from the gray sky.
Just a few days ago, he’d smiled gently and said, “Let’s both do our best to keep living.”
Chapter 9
The sound of the front door opening broke through my haze. Dr. Main, having just finished a phone call, strode in.
He started to say, “Why haven’t you all come inside-” but the words died in his mouth as he took in the scene outside. His voice snapped, sharp with anger.
“What’s going on here? Don’t just stand there–help him! This is a life we’re talking about, not a joke!”
My ears buzzed with a deafening hum, my vision blurred.
Dr. Main rushed to assess Frederick’s condition, then struggled to haul him up and inside.
As we passed, Jasper still wouldn’t let go of me. He barked, “Figure out who your brother is before you worry about saving him!”
Dr. Main, hands full and face dark with fury, lost his patience and delivered a hard kick to Jasper’s side.
“Enough! There’s a time and a place for this nonsense!”
Jasper, caught off guard, staggered and lost his grip. I scrambled to my feet in a panic, stumbling after Dr. Main and Frederick.
Frederick’s face was ashen, lips tinged with blue. My hand trembled as I reached out to check his breathing.
“He’s still alive,” Dr. Main said, voice low and steady.
The tidal wave of terror and guilt that threatened to drown me receded–just barely.
Frederick’s condition was dire.
Thankfully, Dr. Main had returned from visiting his ailing mother, bringing along some medication and medical equipment.
He performed emergency care and set up an IV. Frederick remained unconscious, but his breathing grew steadier.
That night, I made a bed for myself on the floor beside him, wanting to be close in case his condition changed.
Heart failure patients couldn’t risk getting chilled. After what he’d been through that day, I worried it might worsen overnight.
The heart transplant was within reach now; before the dawn really broke, we had to be careful.
Dr. Main frowned, concern evident in his eyes. “Are you sure you’ll be comfortable like this? I can watch him tonight if you want.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine–I’m used to it. I can sleep anywhere.”
He studied me in silence for a long moment.
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Chapter 9
Then, quietly: “You used to be so delicate, you know.”
I froze, embarrassment prickling beneath my skin. “You… recognized me?”
He sighed. “You’ve lost so much weight. I remember when your face was round and rosy, always a handful, always getting into trouble. Your parents and your brother spoiled you so
much back then…”
He trailed off before finishing.
After a while, he asked gently, “Did you and your brother have a falling out?”
I saw no reason to hide the truth. “He doesn’t want to talk to me anymore.”
I’d known Dr. Main for years; when my parents were alive, he and my father had been friends.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have trudged nearly ten miles through snow to find him.
No one is obligated to give up a rare day off, to leave an elderly mother’s bedside, to return to work on New Year’s Eve just to perform surgery.
I just thought… if he refused, maybe I could remind him of the old friendship between our families. Maybe that would be enough.
But in the end, it felt wrong to pressure him.
Dr. Main didn’t ask anything more about Jasper or Frederick. After considering for a moment, he said,
“Heart transplants are the riskiest of all organ surgeries. I’ll do everything I can, but you should prepare yourselves.”
I was overwhelmed with gratitude, so much so that I could barely get the words out to thank
him.
“Get some rest,” he said gently. “You look exhausted. And when you can, take care of yourself too.”
With a matching heart secured and the best doctor on our side, I lay awake late into the night, staring at the moon outside the window.
Its usual pale glow seemed brighter tonight–almost like the first rays of morning sunshine.
I realized I hadn’t felt this kind of hope, this quiet happiness, in years.
The next morning, Frederick finally woke up.
I told him what Dr. Main had promised, and he was just as overjoyed as I was.
We were still talking when someone knocked at the bedroom door, then pushed it open.
Jasper Green stood there, face stiff, voice awkward.
“Come downstairs for breakfast. I made something to eat.”
3/4
Chapter 9
After yesterday’s argument, being around him felt impossibly awkward.
But we were in a remote village, the roads all closed off. With Frederick’s fragile condition, I couldn’t take him anywhere else.
For now, we would have to stay and rely on Jasper’s begrudging hospitality.
