278- The Bond of Blood

278- The Bond of Blood
POV Nicholas:

My eyelids flutter, and very slowly I manage to peel them open. They feel heavy, and even the simplest gesture turns into painful torment. With great effort, I manage to get a sliver of vision. The place is white, and the absolute silence highlights the beep-beep-beep above my head. A shadow passes from one side to the other, and then I feel a light touch on my arm. I can feel my body—that’s a good sign.

“Mr. Whitmore, I’m glad you woke up.” A soft voice sounds beside me. I try to respond, but my mouth is too dry to form words. “I’m Cláudia, a nurse. Can you move your head to look at me?”

Again, the effort is enormous, but I manage.

“Look at that, that’s good.” She makes it easier by leaning closer, and I follow her, feeling more comfortable with the next movement. “Can you speak?”

“Yes…” The answer scrapes my throat. “I…” I freeze, not knowing what to ask. My mind works slowly, with disjointed flashes. “I…”

“The surgery was a success.” Surgery? What the fuck happened?

“Soon the doctor will give you all the details. Your brother was awake, but after the medication he fell back asleep.”

Dominic?

“My brother?” I manage to say.

“Mhm, much better. The IV dripping into your veins will hydrate your throat, don’t worry. As for your brother—he’s right here, in the bed beside you.” I let my head fall to the side, and… Dominic is right there, lying down, asleep. “He insisted that you both stay in the same room for the post-op.”

“I… uh…”

“As I said, the doctor will explain everything.”

“How long have I been out…? I mean…”

“You’ve been unconscious for a little over seventy-two hours.”

“Why is he here?”

The woman smiles, and Dominic stirs. He opens his eyes and finds mine, paralyzed, staring at him.

“Hey there?” He gives a lazy smile. “Can you give us a moment?” he asks the nurse. I’m too confused to react, staring at the ceiling.

“Of course.”

The woman quickly checks the equipment around both our beds, then leaves us in silence, which crushes us for a few seconds.

“How much do you remember?” he asks.

“I think I shot Deloy. Did I kill him?”

“Yes.”

My heart suddenly races. Remembering the reasons that pushed my finger to pull the trigger into that bastard’s chest fills me with even more rage. I don’t regret it, though that doesn’t mean the morbid sensation of killing someone doesn’t course through my body.

“How do you feel about that?” he asks.

“I don’t know, it’s…”

“It was a desperate act,” he tries to name it.

“Raica, how is she? Did he really…”

“No.” Dominic sits up slightly, propping his back higher. “He tried, but Munhoz had worse plans if the investigator hadn’t intercepted the car and handcuffed everyone.” I exhale and inhale, feeling discomfort in my chest. “He also tried to kill you.”

“Actually, he tried to kill you first.”

“Would you have killed him if it were to save me?”

“Without regret.” I don’t hesitate. “And you?”

“I wouldn’t think twice.”

Though I don’t look at him, I feel his gaze fixed on me.

“What’s going on here, Dominic?” I meet his eyes. “Surgery, recovery—what happened after I blacked out for three days?”

Dominic lifts the sheet with a single motion. My eyes fall to a bandage covering the side of his abdomen. He got hurt? I frown, still confused, until he nods for me to do the same. I force myself to pull my blanket down, and there’s the same bandage in the exact same place. I look back at him.

“The bullet hit your pelvic area, damaging your kidneys.” He presses his lips into a tight smile. “I had two, but I survive with only one.”

He… he donated a kidney to me.

“You may not believe it, but beyond everything that happened, we’re brothers. I love you, just as I once hated you. I failed you when I should have been your foundation. I may never earn your forgiveness, and I didn’t do this for that—I did it because I couldn’t stand losing you. Please, free yourself from the past and make your days from now on the best and happiest. I know you’ve started to feel again. Raica got through, didn’t she?”

The damned tear escapes, and my instinct to stare at the ceiling shields my eyes from revealing too much. I don’t know how to deal with what I feel. The inner conflict condemns words, feelings, reason.

I close my eyes.
A lump in my throat. A bitter taste in my mouth. A pounding heart.

Isabella may have told him what I did for Enzo, which is why he felt indebted to me. And no matter how much I ask, Dominic would never mention the truth.

“I know you need time. I’ll wait…”

“I don’t need time.”

“Gentlemen…” The doctor—at least I believe so—walks in without knocking. “We need to talk…”

Dr. Frederico Borges explains in detail the entire kidney surgery procedure, the post-op care, and the risks. Like any surgery, there will be recovery and hospitalization. Since the organ came from a living donor—my brother—it started functioning in my body seconds after the transplant. That spared me from dialysis and other delicate processes. Obviously, we’ll have to be closely monitored by the medical team for six months.