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S E V E N T E E N
Without giving it a second thought, Evan and I sprinted outside, pushing through the sea of police officers and spectators that shouldn't be in the area in the first place.
Holding my breath, I silently prayed to the universe that whatever just happened outside wasn't even remotely close to what was going through Evan and I's minds. I prayed that the second we made it to where our best friend was, he would be found safe and alive.
There is no way I'm mentally prepared to say goodbye to another close friend forever, and I was sure I would never be prepared again. Losing Edmundo would be like losing Josefina all over again, and that was a pain I couldn't bear to feel for a second time.
The minute we were outside, a wave of relief washed over me when I noticed Eddie bent over a person's body, who I assumed was Michell, administering CPR.
It took Evan a couple of seconds to process that his best friend was okay because, after a few beats, I felt him relax next to me.
"Go grab a crash cart and help me keep his heart pumping." Eddie exclaimed in a panic, swatting away people that tried to approach him as he continued to do compressions.
"What are you doing? What happened?" Evan questioned.
My eyes examined Eddie's body from where I stood, making sure that there weren't any injuries he was hiding from us, but I couldn't see any blood, and he was not making any faces that would indicate that he was in pain.
"He shot himself. Bullet hit his brain. Go tell the hospital they need a crash team out here."
"Eddie, he's dead." Evan pointed out.
"Evan, I got it. You stay and help him." I turned to Evan, pressing my hand against his chest, as he looked at Eddie and me like we had lost our minds before I ran inside the hospital.
Michell might've killed himself, but the heart was still beating as long as Eddie kept the circulation and oxygen going.
Without wasting any time, I quickly instructed the nurse team under my command to get Michell from outside, prepare the operating rooms and the boy as well. At the same time, I paged my father and Liam so they could perform simultaneous surgeries for what would hopefully be a successful heart transplant.
All with the nagging pressure of making sure that the person I considered as the older brother I never had did not just put his life on the line for the transplant not to go well.
