Ascending Hearts Novels & Stories

“Last time you hit 140 you spotted. Dr. Hewitt said—” “Dr. Hewitt said it’s normal,” I said. Sat up. “She said twins make your heart work harder. She said walking to the bathroom isn’t a medical emergency.” He didn’t answer. He was looking at the monitor in the nursery. Alex. 98 BPM. Sleeping. Then at mine. 112 BPM. Awake. Annoyed. Then at his phone. His own. 167 BPM. “You’re going to give yourself a heart attack,” I said.

The kind of face you wore when the news was bad but you needed the patient calm enough to hear it. "Your echocardiogram shows significant left ventricular hypertrophy," Dr. Walsh said, pulling up the images. Emma's heart appeared on the screen, the walls thickened in ways that spoke of chronic strain. "Combined with your blood work and the information you provided about the trial drug—Compound 7—I can confirm what you suspected. Your heart has been working at elevated capacity for years. The damage is progressive."

"He needs to see a cardiac specialist. Our tests aren't telling us enough. Something happened with his heart today, but he needs to see someone who specializes in these things. We want to keep him here overnight, and tomorrow transfer him to Harris Hospital in Fort Worth. Their heart unit is the best. He will get excellent care there. I've already communicated with their team and I hope we will have a diagnosis soon." Damn, that didn't sound good-but Garth wasn't dead yet. Benji's legs felt like jelly and he had to fight the urge to sit down on the floor. All the knots and tension he'd been carrying around with him eased. "What the hell happened today?" Benji wanted to understand how they go

She stepped back slightly. “You mean the artificial heart?” “Yes.” Her fingers curled. “So it is still doing something?” Adrian nodded again. “More than that.” Silence. Anna’s voice dropped. “What else?” Adrian hesitated. Then said quietly, “It is responding to me too.” That made her stop completely. “…what?” Adrian looked at her. “When I am close to you, my readings change.” Silence. Anna stared at him. “…that is not possible.” “It is happening,” he said.

] [He's just such a tiny thing… But holding him in my arms, I thought for a split second I should do everything for him and Sue. [But that was the moment the doctor told me about his congenital heart defect.] [30th September. I'm marrying for Nathan's sake, but I'm not marrying Sue.] [But I'm going to be a good husband to Sue and a good father to Nathan.] The pen was pushed so hard on the paper for that last line that it almost tore through it. I couldn't help smiling wryly.

“But I need to know that you mean it. That this, us, isn’t just a temporary victory… or a solution to a problem. That it’s real.” Alexander lowered his forehead to hers, the heat of his breath mingling with hers. “I’ve never been more real, Vanessa. Never more certain. You’re not a clause, not a strategy, not a line in a document. You’re… my heart. My choice. Every day. Every night. Always.”

Jesse blinked at the gleaming marble floors, the crystal chandeliers, the fresh-cut orchids arranged like art installations. "You live here alone?" he asked. Alina walked ahead, heels tapping like a ticking clock. "Alone is underrated." As they passed through a gallery hallway-lined with modern art that probably cost more than his old neighborhood-Jesse stopped in front of a sculpture that looked like two twisted metal hearts. "What's this one called?" "'Affection Fatigue,'" Alina said dryly. "By a French artist who only works during breakups." "Cheerful." She shot him a look. "You'll get used to it. Come on."

I asked, dropping all the formalities. “He’s stable for now Joanne”Steve said as he took a deep long breath before continuing, “his heart went into acute decompensation and he lost consciousness due to poor cardiac output.” My pulse quickened and my heart thudded. I tried to calm down and not tilt towards the negative side. “I don't know how to tell you this, we've started him on inotropes but his response is so far minimal. We might be talking of a heart transplant” Steve dropped the news with a calm voice.

she yelled Silas placed his hand on her shoulder. “Do you feel any pain in your chest?” He asked Fiona raised her brow in puzzlement. “What?” “You don't, right? That is because you have a healthy heart. That boy is suffering from heart failure and that seizure could've killed him if I hadn't been there so yes, his life is more important” Fiona's eyes whelmed up, “I can't believe you're saying this,” Silas ascended the stairs, paying her fuss no attention.

He had always been proud and cold, always the one standing above everyone, giving orders. But now, he was crying like a child who'd been kicked out of his own home. If this were the past, my heart would have immediately softened. I would have rushed to hold him. But now, I felt like I was watching the end of a pathetic play. Once the curtain falls, it's over. My heart was calm, untouched. People are like that. When you hold something in your hand, you toss it around carelessly. Only when it's thrown away do you realize you want to pick it back up.