I drive carefully to Overlake. Luckily, I know exactly where it is and where to park. I’ve seen patients here.
This is also where Isabel and Matthias died.
I try not to think about that, but it’s hard when I’m catapulted back to that night right when I walk through the sliding glass door.
It was here that I lost everything.
It was here that my life changed.
It was here that the 50/50 rule did not play out in my favor.
I hope, I pray, that tonight it will.
*
I run over to where Samantha and Thomas Halle are sitting with Elijah.
“What happened?” I say as they stand up. Samantha’s eyes are red from crying, and Thomas and Elijah look exhausted and emotionally drained.
“They think she was trying to avoid a dog on the road. They found it cowering nearby. It was raining, and her car hit the center divider. It flipped three times. They’re not… they’re not giving us any updates on her condition,” Samantha says, and she clutches her mouth with her hand. “She was going to see you, wasn’t she?”
My head hangs in shame, and I nod slowly.
Except instead of being mad at me, she just smiles and pulls me in for a hug. I pull away and stroke her arms.
“She’ll be okay,” I say shakily.
Because she has to be okay.
She has to be.
“Only Evianna would brake for an animal in the pouring rain,” Thomas adds sadly.
“I don’t even drive, and even I know you’re supposed to pump your brakes instead of slam them,” Elijah adds. “They always tell you to just hit the animal. It’s not worth your life. When it’s raining, you’re supposed to just keep going…” He looks away, and I can tell he’s trying really hard not to cry.
“I know, sweetie,” Samantha says, pulling Elijah in for a hug.
We all sit down and wait.
And wait.
I notice another family across from us—two women, a couple presumably, and a toddler. Which one of us will get the bad news? I hope both of us will get good news, but past experience tells me that it’s more like 50/50.
50 fucking 50.
She has to be okay.
I don’t think I can withstand another loss in my life.
I think it might break me—more so than the last time—and I don’t think I can survive it.
The sliding door whooshes open, and a doctor walks in, smiling from ear to ear. The women across from me run over to him, and instantly, they’re crying and smiling. I overhear the doctor tell them it’s a girl.
I’m crying, too, but for a different reason.
I just got the brunt end of the 50/50 deal—again. The universe must really hate me for some reason.
I keep my head down as the family follows the doctor to the maternity ward. It reminds me of Bria and Matthias, and my heart starts to hurt even more thinking of losing Matthias, losing Isabel, losing Evianna…
Just as I feel myself start to panic, the door whooshes open again, and I jump up. Samantha, Thomas, Elijah, and I all run over to the doctor in a white robe.
“Mr. and Mrs. Halle?” he asks, looking at Samantha and Thomas.
“How is she?” Samantha asks breathlessly. “Please, just tell us if she’s okay.”
He hesitates for a second, and for that one second, I see the room spinning around me, déjà vu coming back forcefully…
Please, I beg.
Please.
“She’s stable,” he says slowly, and we all let out a sigh of relief. “However, she sustained multiple injuries. Her leg and rib are broken, so she’ll be on the mend for a while. We had to perform emergency surgery because her spleen ruptured, and she has a pretty severe concussion.” I watch him as he looks at me. “She will be fine.”
Before I know what I’m doing, I’ll pulling the doctor into a tight hug. Everyone laughs. I don’t realize I’m crying until my vision gets blurry, and a drop of water hits his collar.
“Thank you,” I say, and I go to hug Samantha, Thomas, and Elijah.
“You can go in and see her,” he says, gesturing for us to follow him.