Lyric’s P.O.V
Three hours passed and the lights above the operation theater still shore a bright red.
Mrs. McKenzie, Nathan, Stephen and I sat outside the room with our hearts in our throat. Yes, the chance of Lydia dying during the operation was ten per cent, but it was still a chance I didn’t want to consider. None of us did.
Somewhere along the way, Stephen had gone ahead and gotten us some coffee since all of us had stayed up last night. Right now I was on my third cup and I was getting jittery. But it was more from anxiousness than from the coffee.
“You know this isn’t the first time we’ve all been here,” Stephen said as he took a small sip of his coffee. “The first time was even worse.”
I knew what he was talking about. The first time was when Lydia had been shot. I couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like for Stephen and the rest of the family to sit outside for hours, not knowing if their precious angel will come out of the operation theater alive.
“I wish I could tell you that I understand what you’d been through, but I can’t.” I told Stephen the truth. “My brother had been in a bombing accident where he lost his legs. But even then, I was sure he was going to make it even if it meant losing his legs. But what happened to Lydia...” I shook my head as a chill ran down my spine. “She’ll make it. She’s a fighter. She has to make it.”
“Nathan had it the hardest the first time,” Stephan pointed towards his younger brother as he sat on the chair opposite to us, his arms wrapped around their mother. “He found her seconds after she got shot. He had been so paranoid after that incident that he would wake up in the middle of the night and go to Lydia’s room just to see her breathing.”
Stephen shook his head and gave me a small, apologetic smile. “Sorry, I shouldn’t go into all the gory details.” He motioned with his hands towards the hall. “It’s just this place…it brings back so many dark memories. But I shouldn’t burden you with them. You make her happy. When I first left her at Rosewater…she was barely a shell of the person she used to be. But the person who came at my engagement was different. That was more the baby sister I grew up with. And I have you to thank for that.”
“No,” I shook my head immediately. “I should be the one thanking you, for sending her to me. I would be a completely different person if Lydia hadn’t come into my life. She’s changed me in ways I could never have imagined a year ago.”
“Love does that to you,” Stephen smiled slightly. “It changes us completely. But only true love can change you for the better. I’m glad you found each other.”
“Really?” I asked him skeptically. “Because I remember the first time I met you and you pretty much wanted to kill me.”
“Honestly, I didn’t think you were worthy of her back then,” Stephen shrugged. “Plus, being a brother to a baby sister, I couldn’t just accept that she’s all grown up and ready to be in a romantic relation with someone. But I’ve seen you change too. I can see how much you care for her and it gives me comfort knowing that you’d do anything to keep her safe. That’s what changed my mind really.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” I told him. And I was glad. Glad to know that Lydia’s family loved and accepted me in ways that my own family had never done before. Mom and dad wanted someone they could boast about and Derek had turned out to be that person. I had been the lucky ‘accident’ that they had never planned on but decided to keep anyway because they couldn’t imagine getting an abortion.
And then there was Derek. Before the accident, we had hardly been friendly, mainly because of our ten year age gap. But after the accident, he’d focused his entire energy trying to make me like him so I could fulfill his broken dream. And being the child desperate for affection, I had been happy that my brother was finally paying attention to me. So, without thinking, I’d sacrificed my own dreams to become everything that he wanted me to be.
If I hadn’t met Lydia, I’d probably be the same man. Angry at the entire world and yet not knowing what I was angry about. But everything had changed because of Lydia. She had shown my brother what he was doing wrong and she was also the reason why my parents were being nice to me too. We had finally patched up our differences, healed old scars. And I wanted Lydia in my life for all my future achievements. I wanted her at my graduation ceremony, I wanted her with me when I got my first job. I wanted to gift her my first paycheck and so much more.
Me, David Lyric Donovan, the boy who had ran away from any kind of relationship, now wanted everything with Lydia. If something happened to her…it’ll be the end of me too.
Right then, the lights above the operation theater turned off and the door opened to reveal the two doctors who had been performing the surgery and a nurse who was carrying out a large trey.
“Doctor?” Nathan, Stephen and I were instantly on our feet, running towards the doctor in unison.
“The operation was a success.” The doctor took of his mask with a smile. He looked thoroughly exhausted but confident. “Ms. McKenzie is still under the effect of anesthetics but she should regain consciousness within the next twelve hours. And after three months, she should gain full control of her facial muscles.”
“Thank you so much, doctor!” Nathan looked about ready to cry and so did Stephen. I was barely holding on to my sanity as well and when my vision started to blur, I knew I was on the verge of tears as well. My knees shook as relief washed over me and I would’ve toppled over if Stephen hadn’t noticed and held my arm.
Lydia was safe. She was going to be alright. She was finally going to live a normal, happy life. There was nothing more that I could ever ask for.
“You need to rest now.” Stephen told me. “We all do. Lydia is going to be fine. She made it.”
“She made it…” I whispered as my knees gave out and I crumbled to the floor. “She made it.”
That was the last thing I remembered before my vision blurred and my eyes rolled back in my head.