Page 17 of Bodyguard My Heart

“We did it for you,” I whispered to myself. I didn’t know if he had heard me. Never in a million years did I think this was how he would find out. Royale turned around. He didn’t say anything else to me for the remainder of the ride to the ICU. We all rushed into the lobby as soon as the elevator doors parted. Royale showed us to the private waiting area that he’d requested for us. Two brown-skinned women greeted me when we stepped into the room. They were wearing scrubs, so I assumed they were the doctors.

“Are you Mrs. Augustine?” one of them questioned.

“Yes.” I nodded, closing the space between us.

“I am Dr. Foster, and this is my nurse practitioner Miss Jansen.”

“We spoke over the phone,” Nurse Practitioner Jansen said.

“As mentioned, your husband was brought in for injuries related to a car accident. We were able to get him stable, but several scans showed internal bleeding in the abdomen. He has extensive damage to his spleen. It is ruptured. Mr. Augustine also has a break in his right leg.”

Tears rolled down my face as I listened to the doctor list Demetrius’s injuries. With all of that going on, it was a miracle that he was alive.

“He needs to undergo immediate surgery to stop the internal bleeding and repair his ruptured spleen. He’s going to need a partial splenectomy to save his life.”

“Oh my God!” My knees buckled, but I was glad Royale and Monroe were there to hold me up.

“Miss, your husband has lost so much blood. He’ll lose more during the procedure. It isn’t safe to operate on him without giving blood. To operate, he’ll have to undergo a blood transfusion. That is where we need your consent. Unfortunately, time isn’t on your side. We need an immediate decision.”

The room looked as if it was spinning as I tried my best to process what she said. A splenectomy was a serious surgery with a lot of risk factors, and so was a blood transfusion. So many things could go wrong, but our choices were slim. The fact that Demetrius trusted me to make decisions about his medical well-being had more tears glazing my eyes.

“Yes, I consent. Do what you need to save his life, please,” I cried. The doctor nodded and offered me a light tap on the shoulder.

“I’ll do everything I can. I’ll have the nurse bring back the paperwork.” Dr. Smith turned to walk away, but Royale stopped her.

“Excuse me, Doctor!” he shouted. “We were also waiting on news about the man brought in with him. Fabian Baptiste.”

Dr. Smith looked down at her clipboard and then back up at us.

“Are you his next of kin?”

“We’re the only family he has here in the States. He’s here on a work visa,” Royale informed her. I watched as the doctor’s expression grew somber, and my already broken heart shattered.

“He didn’t make it. The bleeding in his head was too much. I’m sorry, but he succumbed to his injuries.”

Dr. Smith turned and briskly walked out of the room before disappearing behind the double doors. Nurse Practitioner Jansen trailed behind her. The room was silent. Hearing thatFabian hadn’t made it was heartbreaking. I didn’t even know why I hadn’t thought to ask about him. Of course, he was driving Demetrius. He drove him most of the time.

Royale released me and walked over to a waiting room chair. He tucked his head in his shirt, shielding the tears he shed for Fabian. My eyes traveled to Polo as he cried into Contessa’s chest. This was heavy and now seemed like the perfect time to fall apart. The room filled up with the sounds of my sobs. I cried for Fabian. I cried because of the thought of losing Demetrius, and I cried because I’d spent the last six years suppressing my feelings for Demetrius to avoid this very moment, and it still came.

“We got you. Everything is going to be okay, sis. It has to be.” Monroe rubbed my back.

“What if it’s not? Fabian is gone. The last thing I said to Meechie was I didn’t love him.” I tucked my head into her chest and let my broken heart spill out without any reservations.

“What if he dies thinking I don’t love him?”

“He knows, sis,” Polo interjected from where he sat with Contessa in the corner of the room. “Y’all love for one other… That’s what’s keeping him here. That’s what’s pushing him to fight.”

I stared at Polo. Despite the tears he’d shed for Fabian, this was the calmest I had ever seen him. Splats of blood covered his clothes too.

“That nigga is not about to die and let you move on with another nigga,” he added, lightening the air in the room. It was needed. Everyone chuckled a little as a nurse appeared with a clipboard.

“You want to go over the consent to treat here or somewhere more private?” she asked. I glanced around the room at everyone present. We were all an important part of Demetrius’s life. We were all his family.

“Here is fine,” I replied.

“Okay.” She looked down at the paper and back at me. “Mrs. Augustine, the procedure involves operating on your husband to address abdominal bleeding being caused by a ruptured spleen.”

My lips moved as she spoke. I already knew the spiel about blood transfusions. I’d given this same spiel to many people. It didn’t matter what she said. I was going to sign.