Chapter Thirty-Four
Lee
Laying in bed with Mac is where I find peace.
It’s annoying because deep down I still want to be mad at him for leaving me for three days, but I know I can’t.
He’s right. He was following a direct order.
Which is why I’ve shifted my anger from Mac to Rowan.
He knows how much Mac and I have been struggling being away from each other. Yet still he separated us again.
I got here last night with both my family and the Byrnes in tow.
I wasn’t really sure why all of Mac’s family was here until Declan dropped the bomb that he’s my donor.
There were a lot of tears, hugging, and thankfulness shared between Declan and I, not to mention both our families.
Then Declan said the words that knocked the breath out of me.
“I’d do anything for my siblings, Lelonie. Even if that means giving my sister a kidney.”
Being accepted by the Byrnes, especially by Declan, is such a monumental thing. The same Declan who despises my brother just hands over an organ to save my life without blinking. Speaking of said brother, Jakob storms into the room with tension coming off of him in waves.
“They’re bringing Dec back, then they’ll come get you.”
I can’t tell if he’s mad or just insanely nervous about this. It’s probably both if I’m being honest. If they’re bringing Declan back, that means that they’ll be coming to get me in just a few minutes.
Turning to my family, I address them, “Can we all say our ‘see you when you wake ups’ now so I can have a few minutes with Mac before they come back here?”
They reluctantly agree as they take turns giving me big hugs and whispering about how much they love me and how I’m going to do amazing.
Once Mac and I are alone, I finally bring my eyes to him and let the dam break.
Mac wraps me up in his arms and gently pulls me into his lap.
He holds me tight as I let go of all my emotions.
Emotions that I’ve had stored up since the day I found out that I’m sick.
It’s almost over. I can go to the park again.
God, that sounds so nice. I just want to go to Central Park with Mac and walk around without worrying about getting sick.
I want to go on dates, go shopping, or even just to a restaurant.
It’s all so close I can almost taste it.
I mean, sure, I’ll be on anti-rejection medicine for the rest of my life, but that’s an easy trade from either living in a bubble or having dialysis daily.
Once my sobs have turned into sniffles, Mac pulls me back from his chest and locks his watery eyes onto mine.
“When I’ve recovered from surgery, can we go to Central Park for a walk?”
“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go, whenever you want to go there.
I hope you’ve gotten enough of our new house because as soon as I get the okay, we’re going to be spending our time out.
I want to explore the world with you, Lee.
Work remotely as we bounce from place to place.
Hell, country to country, just seeing it all and making up for the fifteen years we missed out on. ”
“You can’t just leave. You have a family relying on you.” Taking my hand, I bring it up to his face and gently stroke his cheek.
“My family is the two of us, Lelonie. Don’t you get it?
I love my brothers, nephew, soon to be niece, and sisters-in-law so much that just thinking about them makes my chest ache.
But they aren’t you. It’s okay to love them and still do what’s best for us.
I’ll still work for them. I’m not going to leave them high and dry, but they aren’t going to hold me down from the things I want to do and see either.
So you’re going to do amazing in surgery, and you’re going to recover.
I’m going to work through step nine, and then we’re going to get out of here and go see the world. ”
The picture he paints is so vivid, I can practically see us exploring each and every continent. It sounds like a dream come true, but dreams seldom do come true, so I agree with him and wait to see what will come from this in the end.
Only about ten minutes later the nurses come back to get me. Mac’s visibly nervous, but he puts on a brave front as he holds my hand until the very last second, but I know better. He’s barely holding it together. Right as he lets go of my hand, I smile up at him.
“See you on the flip side, Big Mac.”
A choked laugh bubbles up from his chest as he shakes his head.
“Don’t call me that. I’ll see you as soon as you wake up, Beautiful.”
“I love you, MacQuillian Patrick.”
“I love you, Lelonie Dorthea.”
We keep our eyes locked on each other until the door to the hall filled with operating rooms shuts, effectively cutting off our eye contact.
See you soon, Handsome.