Chapter 3

Jacob's POV

Before I could relax, another commotion erupted inside the room. Tyler hadn't even donated 100 milliliters when he suddenly cried out that he felt sick.

He clutched his chest and winced. "Ms. Green, my chest hurts, and I'm really dizzy."

I rushed to check the monitor, but all his readings were normal.

Anna was clearly worried about him. She shoved the nurse's syringe aside. "Stop. He's given enough."

She helped Tyler up and immediately tried to leave with him.

I blocked her path, my eyes bloodshot. "Where are you taking him? You promised me. What about Nancy?"

Anna shoved me aside. "Tyler isn't a blood bank. If he keeps giving blood, he's the one who'll end up in danger. Don't you care what happens to Nancy once he can't donate anymore?"

Anna ignored my attempts to stop her and left with Tyler.

I pressed myself against the wall, my heart pounding as I prayed that the blood Tyler had given would be enough to pull Nancy through. But how could 100 milliliters possibly be enough?

The doctor came out of the operating room shaking his head.

I swayed on my feet and caught myself against the wall, barely managing to stay upright. "D-Doctor, how is Nancy?"

My voice shook. I was terrified his answer would confirm my worst fear.

The doctor looked grim, and there was pity in his eyes. "She's out of immediate danger, but she still hasn't regained consciousness. Her brain didn't get enough blood, and she went without oxygen for too long.

"You need to prepare yourself. If she doesn't wake up, she may remain in a vegetative state. Even if she does, she could be left with permanent cognitive impairment."

His words played over and over in my mind.

A nurse wheeled Nancy back into her room with an oxygen mask over her face. She looked so thin and small. If her chest hadn't been rising and falling, I would have thought she was dead.

Numb, I pulled out my phone and called Anna. I wanted to ask why she would do this to Nancy. She answered almost immediately, but the background was so noisy that I could barely hear her.

Before I could say anything, she snapped at me over the noise, "What do you want? I told you, I'm not letting anything happen to Tyler. If he didn't give enough blood, get the rest from the blood bank."

She hung up, and the line began to beep in my ear.

I no longer had the strength to stand. I crouched beside Nancy's bed, pain stabbing through my chest.

Notifications kept pouring in. My boss told me to resign before I made the news outlet look bad. My public statement only made the backlash worse.

"This reporter must be desperate to go viral. He can't just spread lies, apologize, and expect everything to go away. Someone should report him to the police."

"This loser actually thought he had a chance with Ms. Green? Disgusting. Stop using her name for clout."

"Someone should dox him and teach him a lesson. He makes me sick."

Meanwhile, Anna posted a new photo on social media.

In it, her fingers were interlaced with Tyler's, their rings catching the sunlight. She had taken him to watch the sunset and sped across an overpass with him.

My finger went still over the photo. As the monitors beeped around me, the tears I'd been holding back finally began to fall.