Tough Love

Chapter Sixty-Five

Sooooo, I felt really guilty for leaving you guys hanging. Just so you know, I wrote like crazy to get this one up. I hope you enjoy it. I'm a little nervous about this one, so constructive critisism would be appreciated. I may be able to bust out another chapter by the weekend, but I'm not making any promises. Anyhow, read and enjoy. Oh, and you guys totally rock. Tough Love is at number 22 in the Action Category & I couldn't have imagined it would get this far. I have you guys to thank for that, so give yourselves a big up for it :)

Chapter Sixty-Five

I stand there, in front of my dad, rooted to the spot. I can't move or say anything. I'm not even completely certain that my heart is beating or that I'm still breathing. It's Ash's voice that brings me out of my trance.

“Poppa D?”

My dad's expression is grim as he says, “Let me talk to Eli first.”

He grabs my elbow and pretty much drags me to a quiet room. I think he's expecting a melt down, so I try to prepare myself for the worst.

“Eli, are you hearing me right now? I need you to listen to me.”

I nod, my mouth isn't working.

“It doesn't look good. They've lost her a few times on the operating table, but they have managed to get her back. The problem is, every time they resuscitate her, there's more damage to the cardiac tissue. They don't know how much more her heart can take. They need to know if you want them to resuscitate her if she flat lines again...”

I shout, “Of course I want them to resuscitate her!!”

Ash's face appears in the doorway. He's wide-eyed and he looks scared. My pops shoots him a look and the door closes, leaving us alone again.

“Ok, ok, ok. Eli, you need to listen to me. I know you love her and I know that losing her will break your heart, but you need to think of Dani here. She has severe head trauma and she's likely to be in a coma for a long time, that's assuming she even makes it out of this surgery. She's lost so much blood and they're having to pump her full of drugs just to keep her stable enough to keep working on her. Even if, by some miracle, she makes it out of this alive, she's going to have a serious drug addiction at the end of it...”

“That doesn't matter right now. What matters is keeping her alive. She'd rather be alive.”

“Are you sure about that, Eli? She wouldn't want to be an addict again, son. You know how opposed she is to taking drugs. I know this is a tough decision, son. I know you don't want to lose her, none of us want to lose her, but you have to think of Dani in all of this...”

“Dad, she's not even 30, she can't go yet. She hasn't lived enough good experiences to go now. She wouldn't want to go out like this. She wouldn't want them to win.”

“You know her better than anyone, so you will know what she really wants. You just have to take yourself out of the situation and think about her wishes. I know it's not easy, especially seeing as they need an answer now, but I need you to think about what Dani would want. I'm going to get you a cup of coffee and give you a chance to think. Just try to take yourself out of it. Ok?”

I don't respond. I just stare at the wall. How can I make a decision like this? How can I decide whether Dani wants to live or not? I don't know what she'd want. I know she wouldn't want to have a drug addiction again, but I also know she wants to have a good life. She wants so desperately to try being normal; to have a life filled with good things. She deserves at least a shot at that. After all she's been through, she deserves to be happy.