CHAPTER 67

CHAPTER 67
"And if Tyson wakes up—"

"If he wakes up," Luca cut in, "he's going to tell them I tried to kill him. He'll leave out the part where he was about to blow my head off. He'll leave out the part where he threatened you and the baby." He said in such a painful, shaky voice that I had to fight the urge to wrap him in a hug.

I believed him. God help me, I believed every word. This situation is really bad for him. Luca should have come to me; together, we could have figured it out.

Footsteps approached, I signaled for Luca to help me up, and he quickly did with no hassle. Luca swayed, pale as the walls. Dan rounded the corner, face drawn tight. His eyes flicked between us, me standing too close to Luca, looking like he'd been hit by a truck.

"What's going on?" Dan asked. His voice was dangerously quiet. I stepped in front of Luca without thinking. "Nothing. He just needs air; he hasn't eaten the whole day."

Dan's gaze settled on Luca; something dark flickered behind his eyes. "You shouldn't be here." Luca opened his mouth, closed it. Looked at me like I was the only life raft left.

I took a breath. "Dan, we need to talk." Dan's jaw clenched. "Not now."

"Yes. Now." I reached for his hand. His fingers were ice-cold. "Tyson's blood type is rare. The hospital's supply is low. They're asking for family donors first." Dan's eyes narrowed. "And?"

"And Luca and I were just discussing the possibility." Luca made a choked sound behind me. Dan looked at him, really looked, and something shifted in his expression. 

"You're not giving blood," Dan said to me in a flat and final tone. I rolled my eyes, annoyed that he was being overprotective for no reason. 
"Seriously?' I snapped. "Is that the chance that you want to take with your brother's life?"

Dan stared at Luca for a long beat. "How about you?"Luca swallowed, unable to give him an answer. I took that chance to get his attention. "Can you consider me?" 

Dan's laugh was short, humorless. "You want to save my brother? Well, it makes sense, you probably worried that he might be the father of your father, that's why you want to save him." I gasped at the amount of shock and the annoyingly high price. 

"That's how low you really want to go?" I asked with unshed tears burning my eyes. I held them unable to release the floods and make myself look way more guilty than I probably look.

"You know what? Maybe you're right, Dan. But unlike you, I own up to my shit. I don't hide behind my mother's skirt and wait for my brother to impregnate my wife, then show up." Dan looked away; the words probably sting. 

He cleared his throat; his voice sounded rough. "You can go ahead and kill that child by donating blood to the one guy that will never give you what you want. The one person who wouldn't even bat an eye at your death." A low rasp gasp escaped my lips, my vision got blurry, and I could feel myself lose balance.

In my head, I kept asking myself one question: how long can anyone really go? Did I really hurt his feelings that much that he would drag me like some drama queen? "Emerald," He called out my name, before rushing forward to catch me in his arms.

"I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean any of that." I nodded even though my chest tightened each second going by, and my head was getting lighter. "Somebody, please help!" That's the last thing I remember before I lost consciousness.