Third person Pov
"Come on in. I'll take you to see him," Tunde urged, getting down from the car while Harriet and I followed suit.
Many thoughts went on in my head but none could prepare me for the reality of the situation.
Tunde led us to a ward and just when he was about pushing the door open, he turned to stare at me and muttered, "I'm really sorry. I understand if you no longer want - "
Really!?
Ignoring his earlier words, I didn't let him finish before I reached out and pushed the door open and there Nathan laid, looking frail and grunt. His cheeks were sunken and he had dark circles under his eyes.
"Hannah?" a soft voice called out and only then did I realize that I wasn't alone. Recognition flickered across my face as I stared at them. Despite the fact that it had been years, save from Deborah and Phillip, Nathan's younger siblings, his parents didn't change much.
"How?" I managed to ask, tears gathering in my eyes. "How did he get to this point?"
Tunde was the one that answered though. "He has Pulmonary Fibrosis and needs a lung transplant but we haven't been able to find a match."
A lung transplant? Pulmonary Fibrosis?
I took in the sight of the man I had loved for over 12 years and suddenly, I realized why he had wanted me to come home but I had stubbornly delayed and now I'd live to regret it for as long as I lived.
Not if I could help it though.
"How long does he have?" I asked, covering the distance to his bed.
"Not much time," Deborah, Nathan's sister, answered. She seemed to have been crying for so long.
Humming, I pressed a breezy kiss on his forehead and walked out of the ward with Harriet and Tunde behind her.
"Hannah," Harriet called out but I ignored her. Suddenly, she reached out and pulled my hand, forcing me to stare at her. "I do hope it's not what I think you're planning to do?"
Depends on what you think I'm planning to do, but I guess you'll be right anyways.
The words threatened to slip out of my mouth but instead, I turned to Tunde, asking, "Where's the doctor's office?"
"Second floor, first office by the right."
"Hannah, no," Harriet said, stepping in front of me. "This isn't safe for you. You can't just - "
"Move, Harriet," I snapped, with a glare.
Harriet swallowed the rest of her protests, heaving a sigh as she reluctantly stepped aside, leaving me to walk past toward the elevator.
The doctor was on a call when I arrived, so without bothering with any pleasantries, I sat down and got straight to the point.
"Ward 19, Nathan Akinleye, I want to donate a lung to him."
The doctor had a look of surprise on seeing me but later, he appeared worried. Excusing himself from the car, he ended it to reply to me.
"Miss…" he began, waiting for me to give him a name.
"Hannah George."
"Miss George," the doctor continued with a look of worry. "It's a humane step to take but before that, I want to debrief you on the risks - "
"I don't care about the risks," I cut in, rather impatiently. "Just check the compatibility."
There was silence for a while as we stared at each other without a word.
"Okay, please come with me," the doctor reluctantly agreed, standing up to lead the way.
While waiting for the results to come out, mom, dad and even Harris showed up at the hospital. My eyes found my sister's and she looked away.
"Hannah," mom began, grabbing my hands as she patted my chest urgently.
Grabbing her hands to grab her attention, I enunciated calmly, "I've not done anything… yet."
"Yet?" Mom cried out, attracting awkward looks from people but she cared the very least. "What are you planning to do? Cut out your heart and give it out? Without telling me or your father?"
"Mom, he'll die if I don't do something," I began but mom would hear of it. While we were debating, Nathan's sister stepped out and saw dad who was also shocked to see her.
Just then, the doctor appeared with a solemn expression on his face and an envelope. I suddenly had a bad feeling about it but notwithstanding I stared at the doctor waiting for him to break the news.
"I'm sorry, Miss George. You're not a match."
The processed words soon gave way to an effect of a physical blow rather than an emotional one and I found myself crumpling to my feet.
'Was Nathan's situation beyond redemption?'
My thoughts were cut off by Tunde rushing in to announce that Nathan wanted to see me. Almost clawing my face in a bid to wipe away the tears, I made my way to his room.
A small smile formed on his face but it only broke my heart even further. We were alone in the room. He stretched his hand, beckoning on me to come closer and I did.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I accused, tears forming in my eyes. "I could have done all I could. I could have come back for you, for us."
"And then what? Put you through so much pain like I've put everyone around me," Nathan said, his words were slightly muffled but since he spoke slowly, I could pick his wordings.
"Nathan, I - " I began but he pressed a finger to my lips.
"Don't say it if you don't mean it. I don't want to be pitied by the one I love," Nathan said.
Shaking my head, I grabbed his hand and pressed a kiss to it. "I don't pity you, I could never do that."
Tears blurred my eyesight so I wiped it off, wanting to see the man who was lying in front of me. "I love you, I have loved you since we were 12. Please don't leave me just yet, I can't live without you."
He didn't say anything, I found something pressing into my hands. It was a necklace, it had a picture of both Nathan and I from 20 years back where we had showed up dirty on Christmas Eve. Now that I think of it, who took this picture?
We spent the next few hours going over all our childhood memories together until Nathan slept off. A smile caressed my face as I stared at his peaceful and unguarded expression and soon I slept off as well.
I didn't know how long I slept before my sister stirred me awake. I took one glance at him and saw that he was still sleeping, only then did I give Harriet a look that said, 'What happened?'
"Hannah," she whispered, her expression was a mix of many emotions. "Dad's a match. They're preparing him for surgery now."
The words took a moment to register, and when they did, happiness filled my whole being. "He's a match?" I repeated, trying to confirm what she'd said.
"Yes," Harriet nodded with a small smile, squeezing my hands slightly.
I turned to Nathan, wiping tears off my cheeks. "Nathan, did you hear that?" I asked, shaking him slightly. "We found a match. You'll be fine. Dad's going to save you."
But Nathan didn't open his eyes, neither did he move. My eyes caught the thin line on the ECG monitor and I gasped.
"Nathan?" I called even more frantically, shaking him harder, but to no avail.
"Doctor!" Harriet yelled, rushing to the door. The doctor appeared alongside Deborah and Harris and Mrs. Akinleye and my mom.
I stepped back to allow the doctor to do his job. He checked his pulse, placed two fingers on Nathan's neck, then checked his eyes.
The pause that followed was unbearable. Finally he straightened up and turned to face all of us.
"I'm sorry," he began, holding my gaze. "We lost him."
Clutching my chest tightly, as I found it difficult to breathe. The world around me went dark and I passed out.