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❝ she's gonna be okay ❞
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𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

"Put some pressure on that wound, here" The doctor orders.

"Yes, sir" John B complies "What kinda doctor are you?"

"I'm not a doctor" The man answers and my eyes blow wide open.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I retort.

"Not in the eyes of the law, anyway. I'm more like a service provider" He explains and I furrow my brows, still confused.

"What... what does that mean?" John B asks.

"Tell you what, if you find a cure for arthritis in med school, the higher-ups don't like it very much. You know, the powers that be don't give a damn about curing anything" The older man rants, clearly pissed off "All they care about is the green stuff, the money, the bottom line"

"Follow me?" He adds.

"Yeah, totally" John B nods "Is there anything else I should be doing? I really don't know anything about this"

"Just be quiet a bit. Take that off and let me study it a minute" The doctor replies and John B peels the gauze away from the wound.

"She's bleedin' a little on the outside, and she's bleedin' a lot on the inside" He declares.

"What does that mean?" I ask in confusion.

"It means I can go in" The doctor answers, picking up a scalpel.

"You're...you're gonna sanitize that, right?" John B asks worriedly.

"Good call, kid" The doctor nods, placing the tool into a bowl of liquid.

"Just tryin' to help" John B shrugs.

"Now when I do go in, she's gonna lose a lot of blood" The man informs us.

"I gathered" I mumble at the same time John B says "Okay"

"And it may kill her." The doctor adds and my heart drops .

"No. No" John B objects, shaking his head in denial.

"Or it may not kill her. Point is I can't be held liable for this either way" Doctor Nygard tells us.

"You're not liable, all right?" John B assures him.

"Yeah. There's one more thing. Job like this costs 4K" Nygard adds on.

John B holds a finger up, sniffling as he pulls the chunk of gold out of his pocket and offers it to the older man.

"This is all we've got" The Routledge boy states.

"You're shittin' me" Nygard mutters in awe before placing the gold down on the table and picking up his scalpel "Hold that back"

"Doc" I speak up and the man looks at me "Save my sister. Please"

The man keeps eye contact with me for a few seconds before looking down and getting to work. He places the scalpel down onto Sarah's skin and a sob bubbles up my throat, slipping past my lips.

"It's gonna be okay" John B assures me, pulling me into his arms "I've got you, Vie"

I bury my face into my friend's chest and his arms hold me tightly as I cry, praying to any god I can think of to save my twin.

It's a short while before I hear the clatter of the bullet being dropped into a metal dish and I turn my head to see the doctor now stitching the wound closed. I slowly peel myself away from John B's chest but he takes a hold of my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze that I appreciate.

"That was no garden-variety extraction, I can tell you that" Nygard declares "Okay, give me the scissors. And then get me that salty dog, if you would, please"

I hand the doctor the pair of scissors which he uses to cut the thread and John b leaves my side to collect the drink, handing it to the older man who downs the rest of the contents.

"Perfecto" Nygard hums in satisfaction.

"So what happens now?" John B questions.

"We wait. And we hope she wakes up" Nygard explains, walking away with his glass "Time for a refill"

"We're good though, right?" John B wonders aloud.

"Only time will tell" Nygard replies vaguely.

"She's gonna be okay, Johnny" I tell him, placing my hand on his arm and he covers my hand with his own, shooting me a grateful smile.

✯¸.•'*¨'*•༻❁༺•*'¨*'•.¸✯

I'm awoken from my light sleep to John B getting up and I sit up, watching tiredly as he checks Sarah's pulse.

"Hey, Doc. Doc! Come here!" He hollers and the fear in his voice kills every bit of sleep in me.

"Can you feel it?" Nygard asks, entering the room.

"I feel it here but not on her wrist" John B answers and the doctor checks her pulse himself.

"Oh, shit" The man curses.

"What do you want...you want me to do?" John B sniffles.

"What's wrong?" I ask in concern.

"She's got too much fluid already. More's gonna kill her" The doctor explains, stoping the IV "She should be waking up"

"Hey" John B speaks and I jump when I see my sister moving.

"John B" Sarah murmurs.

"Hey, Sarah, it's me" John B smiles warmly at her.

"Hang on. I gotta go get something. I'll be right back" Nygard tells us and I stand by John B's side, Sarah noticing me almost immediately.

"Hey" She says weakly.

"Hey, Sarah" I reply quietly, brushing her hair back out of her face and her eyes fall shut.

"Sleepyhead" John B hums, trying to waken her up but she doesn't respond.

"It's not here" Nygard huffs from the kitchen "Where is it? Shit! Shit!"

"John B?" Sarah croaks and we both look down at her.

"Hey. Hey, you're okay" John B assures her.

"I can't feel anything" She admits and I feel sick to my stomach.

"Johnny" I whimper in fear and he grabs my hand, shaking his head.

"No, no, no, no, no. You're okay. It's okay. Just listen to me" He tells Sarah.

"God dang! Where is this thing?" Nygard yells.

"If I don't make it-" Sarah tries to speak and I choke on a sob.

"Don't talk like that. You're gonna be fine. We'll leave this creepy doctor's office, and everything's gonna be okay" John B explains to her hopefully "I need you to stay with me, okay?"

"Gah!" Nygard grunts in anger and the monitor starts beeping rapidly.

"Doc?" I cry out.

"Hold on. I'll be right there!" Nygard replies.

"Doc? Doc! Hey!" John B panics as the monitor flatlines.

"Do either of you know CPR?" The doctor asks, rushing in with an oxygen mask.

"No" John B and I answer in unison.

"That's a sternum. Push on it till I tell you to stop" Nygard orders John B who listens without hesitation "And try not to break her ribs"

John B starts pressing down on Sarah's chest and I cover my mouth with my hand, watching as my sister turns pale as snow.

"Okay" Nygard stops the boy, covering her face with the oxygen mask and pumping it into her "Okay, go again"

John B starts the chest compressions once again but the more he does it, the paler Sarah looks and the more hopeless the doctor seems.

"Stop" Nygard orders but John B ignores him "Stop"

"Stop. Stop!" The older man demands.

"Come on. Come on" John B mutters under his breath and tears roll down my cheeks "What's wrong? What's... what's going on? What are you doing? What?"

Nygard gives us both a vague look and begins to walk away from us as the monitor beeps off.

"Where are you going? Help. Help me!" John B begs.

"She's just lost too much blood, kid. I'll leave you with her" Nygard explains before exiting the room and leaving us alone.

A sob escapes my lips and I grab onto the windowsill to keep my balance as I heave in breaths between my wails of agony.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten" I hear John B counting and I turn to see him giving her CPR again "Come on. Stay with me. Hey, come on. It's okay"

The boy cries as he tries with everything he's got to revive my sister and the scene causes me to cry harder, my legs giving out on me. My back hits the wall and I slide down it until I'm sat on the floor, hugging my legs to my chest.

"Hey! Please don't die. Come on. Come on! Wake up!" John B screams through sobs "Sarah, wake up!"

The sound of clattering causes me to jump as John B has thrown the oxygen mask and then picks up the chair, throwing it across the room in rage. He takes a few deep breaths and leans down next to my sister, crying harder than I've ever seen him cry before.

"I love you" He whimpers out.

The sound of the monitor makes me choke on my sob and I shakily pull myself to my feet in disbelief as John B checks Sarah's pulse.

"Doc? Doc. Get in here" John B calls out and the doctor enters the room, looking from the monitor to Sarah in complete awe.

"You crazy son of a bitch" He breathes out.

"She's alive?" I croak in confusion.

The doctor nods at me with a happy smile and a weight is lifted off my chest as I turn to John B, tackling him with a hug.