Chapter 4

Oliver was taken away for the pre-donation screening.

The doctor kept confirming his medication history and his general condition.

"Her platelets keep dropping, and there are now signs of bleeding in her lungs. A matched blood source won't arrive for at least two hours. A direct relative's donation is the fastest option we have."

Oliver rolled up his sleeve.

"How long will it take?"

"Collection and processing, about ninety minutes. You can't leave partway through."

He glanced at his watch.

"Let's start."

I stood in the doorway and, for the first time, didn't argue with him.

While the nurse got the needle into his arm, Paula was wheeled into the trauma room next door.

Her mind was already going hazy, but she was still murmuring numbers.

"Six points."

"Still one short."

I held her cold little hand.

"You don't need to keep score anymore, Paula."

She forced her eyes open.

"Seven, and Daddy won't leave."

Something closed off my throat.

"He's not leaving this time."

The words had barely left me when Oliver's phone, lying on the table, rang.

The first time, no one answered.

The second time, Hilary sent a voice message, only a dozen seconds long.

"Oliver, the elevator just stopped, and there's no light in here. I can't breathe. I think it's happening again."

Oliver opened his eyes.

The nurse pressed down on his arm.

"Mr. Farley, we've only just started the collection. Please don't move."

"She has claustrophobia."

The doctor said, "We can notify building management and emergency services. Your daughter is waiting on those platelets."

Hilary's third message came right after.

"You promised. Whenever I'm scared, no matter where you are, you'd come. Oliver, I really can't hold on."

Oliver pulled out the collection needle.

Blood welled up fast from the puncture.

The nurse's face changed.

"Mr. Farley, if you leave now, everything we've prepped is wasted."

I blocked the doorway.

"Building management is already helping her."

"When she has an attack, she hurts herself."

"Paula will die too."

"The backup blood is on its way."

"That's still two hours out."

Oliver pulled out a tissue and pressed it to his arm.

"The doctors will find a way to keep her stable."

I gripped his cuff.

It was the first time since she'd gone critical that I'd reached for him on my own.

"Oliver, just look at her once."

Through the glass, Paula's small body was hemmed in by machines.

The nurse kept changing out the blood-soaked gauze.

"She's waiting for your blood."

Oliver's eyes held for a few seconds.

"There's no one with Hilary."

"There's no father with Paula either."

"You're right here."

He pushed my hand off.

"Bianca, don't force me to prove something at a time like this. Once the blood arrives, I'll come back."

"What do you score her?"

Oliver didn't answer.

"She's just stuck in an elevator, and building management is already on the way. Paula's lungs are bleeding and she can't wait for the backup blood. What do you score each of them?"

His patience finally ran out.

"Hilary could suffocate at any moment, so of course it's a ten. Paula has doctors working on her. It's a different situation."

"So it's still a six."

"The score adjusts based on available resources."

He turned sideways and stepped past me.

His soles crossed the blood that had dripped a moment ago.

Inside the trauma room, Paula suddenly opened her eyes.

She saw Oliver's back as he left and lifted a hand covered in tape.

"Daddy."

Oliver's steps paused.

From the phone came Hilary's muffled crying.

He didn't look back.

Just before the elevator doors closed, Paula asked, very softly,

"Am I enough for seven now?"

The next second, the line on the monitor snapped flat.

The doctor rushed in, shouting,

"Cardiac arrest, prep the defibrillator!"