“Goodness, it takes the doctors a long time to do things, doesn’t it?” Pearl says. “They tell you that they’ll be right back, and then thirty minutes later…you’re still waiting.”
She digs into her purse as though she’s looking for something, huffs with exasperation, and then folds her hands neatly back into her lap.
Pearl, Otto, and I are tucked away into an exam room together. Waiting. We’ve been here maybe ten minutes, but it feels like ten hours.
I pull out my phone and shoot Jason a text:
[Me:] What’s going on? Are we doing the transplant today?
[Me:] Anxious minds want to know.
It doesn’t take long before my phone vibrates in response:
[Jason:] We’ve gotta talk
[Jason:] Come to room 204
[Jason:] Just you
I tuck my phone into my pocket and get up from the chair. Otto is sitting on the exam table, his legs swishing, and I run my fingers through his messy hair. He needs a trim.
“I’m going to step out for just a minute. Do you need anything?”
“A kidney?” he asks hopefully, putting on a cheese-smile.
“I’ll see if they have one in the vending machine.”
He gives me a double thumbs-up. Morbid humor is the best we can do right now to keep everyone’s spirits alive. I press a kiss to the top of his head and dip out of the exam room.
I have to retrace my steps a couple of times to get where I’m going—after spending so much time in the pediatric center, I forget how enormous Lighthouse Medical actually is. I have to cross a bridge between buildings and finally find a room labeled 204.
It looks like an exam room, and I’m not 100 percent sure I’m in the right place, so I knock lightly first.
“Come in,” I hear from inside. I crack open the door.
And he’s there. Not Jason. Donovan. He’s sitting on the table, slumped into his leather jacket, but he straightens up when he sees me, looking just as surprised to see me as I am to see him.
“Hey…” he says. Cautiously, the way one might approach a deer.
I see red. Immediately, I fly into the room and launch at him.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I snap.
He hops off the table and holds up his hands, as though trying to calm me. “I can explain…”
“Explain? You left! Otto was stuck in the hospital and you left.”
“I know. It’s complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it. Tell me the truth. For once.”
His lips screw downward. “Jason’s dad made a deal with me. If I left…he’d find Otto a kidney. I guess polyamorous, bisexual son wasn’t at the top of his Christmas list. He assumed taking me out of the picture would rectify the issue.”
“So that’s why Otto got bumped up the list.”
Donovan nods. He hooks his thumbs into the loops of his jeans. “I didn’t want to get you involved, which is why I couldn’t tell you. I wasn’t sure what exactly he had in mind…but whatever it was, I knew it wasn’t legal. You’re entangled enough as it is. I couldn’t take the risk. Not until it was properly reported.”
I blink at Donovan. “You reported Mr. King?”
“The second I left. Someone like that has no business treating patients. The Board of Medicine is looking into it…it’s the start of a long process.”
For a minute, I’m speechless. This is a lot to take in, and I have to glance away from Donovan to process it. Because when I see him and those trusting, dark eyes, it takes everything in me not to grab his face and kiss the living hell out of him.
“I’m sorry, Kenzi,” he says, his voice low and earnest in a way it almost never is. “I can’t imagine the hell I put you and Otto through.”
I bit my lip. “Yeah. It was hell. But if anyone knows the persuasive power of Mr. King…”
“Well, he’s going to have to persuade himself out of a jail cell soon.” His voice is darker, bitter, a little more like the Donovan I know.
It’s then that I notice the plastic hospital band around his wrist. I touch it, running it between my thumb and forefinger. “Are you hurt?”
“Uh…no…” His lips press together, and he’s almost shy, suddenly. Then his eyes meet mine, and he says, “I’m your new live donor. If you’ll have me.”
Cue all the air leaving my lungs. “What?”
“I got my blood work done. Made sure I was a match to Otto. Even my therapist gave the stamp of approval. My kidney is clean, my brain is clean…we’re good to go.”
“If this is some…dramatic apology…”
“It’s not. I promise. I’m not that good at apologies.”
I look him in the eyes now. I have to see his expression. “Donovan…are you sure?”
When his eyes meet mine, I see nothing but sincerity in them. And confidence. He’s made up his mind about his decision. “All my life, I’ve just wanted…a family. I’ve already lost my mom. My dad. If something happened to Otto…I…well…” He clears his throat and turns, briefly thumbing the edge of his eye. They’ve gone glassy. He finally finishes with “Your family is my family.”
I slip my hand over his chest. “I thought you didn’t have a heart?”
He looks back down at me and takes my wrist in his hand, rubbing his thumb over the skin there. “I don’t. But I do have a kidney.”
